BMO Capital Markets Cuts Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $57.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $57.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.62.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $51.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.71.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 7.58%.Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 182,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,143,000 after purchasing an additional 10,264 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 77.3% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 68,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 29,899 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 617,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,844,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 84.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 11,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 5,341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Jefferies-linked fund obtained an asset-freezing order against Radiant World, potentially helping preserve assets tied to reported exposure of nearly $500 million. This may improve recovery prospects, although the situation remains unresolved. Jefferies fund wins Singapore asset freeze against Radiant World
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies is reportedly winding down its outsourced fixed-income trading business. The move could reduce operational and counterparty risk, but it may also limit revenue opportunities and signal a strategic pullback. Jefferies to Wind Down Outsourced Fixed-Income Trading Business
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies continues to promote investor meetings and publish bullish research on companies including LG Electronics India, Adani Enterprises and Vodafone Idea. These activities support its investment-banking and research franchise, but are unlikely to materially change near-term earnings expectations for JEF. LG Electronics India in Jefferies’ pole position
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target on JEF from $65 to $61 and maintained a Neutral rating, while BMO cut its target from $60 to $57 and retained a Market Perform rating. The revisions suggest more cautious views on valuation and earnings prospects. Jefferies’ latest quarterly results also missed consensus estimates for earnings and revenue, adding pressure to sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that a Jefferies-linked trade-finance fund had substantial Radiant World exposure have renewed concerns about potential credit losses, legal costs and reputational risk for the broader group. Jefferies-linked fund faces reported Radiant exposure

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and wealth management services. Its principal operating business, Jefferies, advises companies, governments and institutional investors on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.

Through its investment banking and securities operations, Jefferies offers equity and fixed-income underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and related services.