Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.6250.

JEF has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $55.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.82. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CX Institutional boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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