Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.33.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE JEF opened at $41.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $28.81 and a 52 week high of $47.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.82. The firm has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 4.41%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Jefferies Financial Group’s quarterly revenue was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 29,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 7.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.