Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has reduced its price target for Jefferies Financial Group from $69.00 to $55.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, which indicates a potential upside of 12.70% from the previous close.
• Despite the price target cut, Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies to a "strong-buy" rating, while multiple analysts have varying ratings, resulting in a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $71.60.
• Jefferies Financial Group recently reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $2.05 billion, up 21.6% year-over-year.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $69.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target suggests a potential upside of 12.70% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.60.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $48.80 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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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