Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $41.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 3.85% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Oppenheimer downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.25.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $52.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,928. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 1.45. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.29.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. The company's revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 925.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,582,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,035,000 after purchasing an additional 232,237 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth $788,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,569,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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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