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

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Seven analysts cover Jefferies, with four rating it Hold and three Buy, and an average 1‑year target of $58.14 amid recent target cuts (BMO to $42; Morgan Stanley to $49; Oppenheimer at $74).
• Quarterly results missed on EPS ($0.70 vs. $0.89 consensus) while matching revenue of $2.02 billion and showing 26.6% year‑over‑year revenue growth; analysts project $3.79 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Jefferies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 (annualized $1.60) with an ex‑dividend date of May 18, implying a yield of about 3.4%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.1429.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JEF. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $47.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.74. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 6.61%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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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