Weiss Ratings Reaffirms "Hold (C-)" Rating for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF)

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c-)" rating reissued by Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF stock opened at $54.36 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.02 and its 200 day moving average is $55.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,145,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

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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