Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.6250.

Several research analysts have weighed in on JEF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 48,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 308,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 300.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $55.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.82. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The company has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.