Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Upgraded to “Hold” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.1%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $62.37 on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $39.28 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 230.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 126,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,971,000 after buying an additional 87,841 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 1,181 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.