Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Jefferies carries an average broker rating of "Hold" (1 sell, 3 hold, 3 buy) with a 12‑month average target of $57.14, though several firms have recently trimmed targets and downgraded the stock (e.g., BMO to $42, Morgan Stanley to equal weight).
• Quarterly results and risks: Q1 revenue rose ~26.6% to ~$2.02B driven by investment‑banking strength, but EPS of $0.70 missed estimates due in part to credit losses tied to private‑lending exposures; the firm also announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend (≈4.0% yield).

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.1429.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Trending Headlines about Jefferies Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investment-banking strength drove revenue growth (1Q net revenues ~$2.02B, up ~26.6% YoY) and higher net earnings versus the prior year, supporting the view that core dealmaking remains robust. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~4%), which can attract income-focused investors and support the share price. MSN: Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: a large block of call purchases (16,488 calls) suggests speculative bullish positioning by traders, which can amplify upward momentum in the stock. Benzinga: Options Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs trimmed its JEF price target from $54 to $47 but kept a Buy rating — a mixed reaction that signals confidence in longer-term upside while tempering near-term expectations. Benzinga: GS Target Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing takeover and strategic-talk speculation (earlier reports that SMFG could be interested) and Jefferies’ relatively lower valuation continue to circulate — a catalyst that can move the stock but remains uncertain. Zacks: Takeover Speculation
• Negative Sentiment: Credit losses tied to private-lending blowups and specific exposures (reported ~$17M tied to two collapses, plus additional write-offs such as a ~$10M First Brands hit) eroded some of the investment-banking gains and helped push results below some analyst EPS expectations. WSJ: Private-Lending Losses
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (e.g., Pomerantz, Bronstein) have launched investigations into Jefferies, creating legal and reputational uncertainty that can pressure the stock until matters are clarified. PR Newswire: Pomerantz Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Additional analyst downside: BMO and others lowered price targets (BMO to $42), signaling that some brokers are pulling back valuation and creating potential selling pressure. AmericanBankingNews: BMO Target Cut

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JEF. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 151.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 259,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,194,000 after purchasing an additional 156,346 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 148.6% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 49,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 29,430 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.4% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $40.27 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $50.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.58. The firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.54%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.

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