Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group's rating was downgraded from "hold" to a "strong sell" by Zacks Research, indicating a significant decline in analyst sentiment.
• The stock has a twelve-month price range between $39.28 and $82.68, currently opening at $64.17.
• Despite the downgrade, the overall consensus rating for Jefferies Financial Group remains "Hold" with an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

JEF has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $64.17 on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.27 and a 200-day moving average of $54.96.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 6.59%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,295,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 173.1% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 11,226 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,304,000 after buying an additional 19,157 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 7,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,985,000 after buying an additional 6,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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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