Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Lowered to $42.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on Jefferies from $68 to $42 and kept a "market perform" rating, a move that implies only about a 6.4% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—three Buys, three Holds and one Sell—leaving an average rating of "Hold" and an average target of $58.14, while several major firms (Morgan Stanley, UBS, Oppenheimer) have recently trimmed targets or ratings.
• Fundamentals show the stock trading around $39.47 (12‑month range $35.53–$71.04) after a recent quarter where Jefferies reported an EPS beat ($0.96 vs. $0.83) and 5.7% revenue growth; the company has a market cap of $8.15B, a PE of 13.88 and ~60.9% institutional ownership.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $68.00 to $42.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.41% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer cut 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 note on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of JEF stock opened at $39.47 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict 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 business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 29,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 6,403 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,574,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 593.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 185,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,513,000 after acquiring an additional 159,016 shares in the last quarter. 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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