Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Receives $72.71 Average Target Price from Analysts

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.7143.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on JEF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Trending Headlines about Jefferies Financial Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent valuation write-ups argue the share-price weakness has compressed multiples and could present a value opportunity if the company avoids major losses—this frames a potential buying case for longer-term investors. Assessing Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ research arm published several routine analyst ratings (Intercos, Dassault Aviation, Deutsche Boerse, RS Group, Lottomatica, Beiersdorf). These reflect normal broker research activity (a business line for Jefferies) but are unlikely to move JEF shares materially in the near term. Intercos: Strong Profitability and Upgraded Growth Outlook Support Valuation Re-Rating and Buy Rating Dassault Aviation: Robust Defense Exports and Margin Expansion Underpin Buy Rating Deutsche Boerse: Undervalued Growth Benefiting from Volatility and Resilient to AI Disruption
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reports regulators have opened scrutiny into Jefferies’ lending to collapsed borrowers MFS and First Brands—issues include the structure of financings and credit risk, which could lead to regulatory penalties, tighter oversight or capital hits. This is the primary driver of investor concern. Jefferies faces scrutiny over lending to collapsed MFS and First Brands
• Negative Sentiment: Market write-ups highlighted a sharp intraday sell-off after the regulatory probe stories, amplifying downside pressure as investors reassess credit exposure and potential litigation risk. Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) Is Down 9.5% After New Regulatory Probes Into Financing Practices – Has The Bull Case Changed?
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz (investor-law firm) opened an investor investigation into Jefferies, signalling potential shareholder litigation over disclosure/controls related to the financing practices—this raises legal risk and could increase headline volatility. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. – JEF

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 30,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3,577.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter valued at about $302,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $44.54 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.25. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $39.28 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.56% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.54%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.