Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Now Covered by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage of Jefferies Financial Group, assigning a "market perform" rating and a price target of $69.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.40% from the current stock price.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported earnings of $1.01 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.79, with revenue increasing 21.6% year-over-year to $2.05 billion.
• Currently, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $72.00, reflecting a mix of Buy and Hold ratings from various analysts.

Equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a "market perform" rating and a $69.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.40% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $63.07 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 8,229 shares during the last quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $2,467,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 1st quarter valued at $462,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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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