The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.97% from the company’s current price.

JEF has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $39.84 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 6.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced (0.40 per share, ~4.0% yield) — supports income investors and provides baseline shareholder support.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — investors bought a big volume of JEF calls, signaling some speculative/hedged bullish interest in the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Profit rose on dealmaking: Jefferies reported higher profits driven by investment‑banking revenue, which underpins the firm’s strength in advisory and markets. Jefferies profit rises on dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results characterized as mixed — some outlets say earnings met consensus and revenue rose on strong IB and equities, but other reporting highlights offsetting weakness in fixed income and private credit. JEF’s Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ research team made portfolio moves unrelated to JEF’s balance sheet (Christopher Wood sold HDFC Bank and cut India weightings) — reputational/newsflow effect for Jefferies as a broker, but indirect for JEF share value. Jefferies’ Chris Wood sells HDFC Bank
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑lending blowups produced a tangible charge (reported ~$17M in losses), which directly pressured quarterly results and investor sentiment around Jefferies’ credit exposure. How Did Private-Lending Blowups Affect Jefferies’ Bottom Line?
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies disclosed an additional ~$10M First Brands loss/write‑off — another hit tied to credit exposures that reduced reported profitability. Jefferies reports new $10mn First Brands loss
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation inquiry: Pomerantz LLP has opened an investigation into claims on behalf of JEF investors, which raises legal/settlement risk and can weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Jefferies
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman lowered its JEF price target (from $54 to $47) — while maintaining a buy, the cut reduces the analyst‑implied upside and can damp buying interest. Goldman Sachs lowed JEF price target

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.