Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JEF opened at $44.95 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $66.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.67.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.84%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% during the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 300.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that operates primarily through its investment banking and capital markets subsidiary, Jefferies LLC. The company provides advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and other corporate transactions, along with equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, research, and prime brokerage services.

Jefferies also manages and invests capital through asset management and merchant banking activities.