Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has received an average analyst rating of "Hold", with four analysts recommending hold and one recommending buy, along with a twelve-month price target of $72.00.
• In its latest earnings report, Jefferies reported $1.01 EPS, exceeding expectations of $0.79, and a revenue of $2.05 billion, which was significantly above the anticipated $1.75 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%, to be paid on November 26th.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $107,356,000. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,958,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,126,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184,822 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,972,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 6,056.0% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 949,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,905,000 after purchasing an additional 933,653 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.2%

JEF traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $62.93. The company had a trading volume of 147,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.41. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. Jefferies Financial Group's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is 54.98%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.

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