The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs has reduced its price target for Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 36.30% from the current stock price.
• Recent earnings results showed Jefferies Financial Group reported an EPS of $1.01, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $2.05 billion, marking a 21.6% increase from the same period last year.
• Various analysts have recently set a consensus target price of $74.40 for Jefferies Financial Group, indicating a general optimism among market participants despite the lowered target from Goldman Sachs.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $84.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price points to a potential upside of 36.30% from the stock's current price.

JEF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.40.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE JEF traded up $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,565,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,672. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $39.28 and a 12 month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.26.

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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 159.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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