Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Lowered to $57.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets lowered Jefferies Financial Group’s price target from $60 to $57 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying approximately 5.68% upside from the $53.94 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally cautious: Jefferies has a consensus “Hold” rating from seven analysts and an average target price of $63.88.
• Jefferies reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, below the $1.16 consensus estimate, despite revenue rising 35% year over year. Its board also authorized a $250 million share buyback, covering up to 2% of outstanding shares.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $57.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.68% from the stock's current price.

JEF has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.88.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF opened at $53.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $71.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.43 and a 200 day moving average of $50.70.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 182,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,143,000 after buying an additional 10,264 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 68,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,427,000 after acquiring an additional 29,899 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% in the second quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 617,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 84.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc NYSE: JEF is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and wealth management services. Its principal operating business, Jefferies, advises companies, governments and institutional investors on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.

Through its investment banking and securities operations, Jefferies offers equity and fixed-income underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and related services.

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