BMO Capital Markets Cuts Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $50.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $57.00 to $50.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Capital One Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 1.2%

JEF opened at $45.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $35.53 and a one year high of $66.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 7.50%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $834,947,000. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,812,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,268,000 after buying an additional 454,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,942,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,390,000 after buying an additional 24,171 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,584,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $127,242,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Jefferies Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reported record fiscal third-quarter investment-banking and equities results, supported by stronger mergers and acquisitions activity and equity issuance. The performance indicates a broader recovery in Wall Street dealmaking, although the benefit was partly offset by weaker asset management and fixed income. Jefferies Q3 IB, Equities Offset Weak Asset Management and Fixed Income
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, payable November 25, reinforcing shareholder returns and providing some support for the stock’s investment case. Jefferies Financial Group to Issue Quarterly Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of the quarterly results highlighted a mixed earnings composition: record investment banking revenue points to improving deal activity, but the uneven contribution from asset management and fixed income limits confidence in the durability of earnings growth. What Jefferies’ Q3 Result Says About Wall Street’s Investment Banking Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have turned more cautious. Morgan Stanley reduced its price target to $49 from $50 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, signaling limited near-term upside. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Jefferies Financial
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets also cut its price target for Jefferies, adding to valuation pressure and reinforcing concerns that the stock’s recent earnings strength may not fully offset weaker business segments. Jefferies Financial Group Stock Price Target Cut by BMO Capital Markets
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs issued a pessimistic forecast for JEF, while commentary following the results identified persistent asset-management challenges as a drag on earnings and investor sentiment. Goldman Sachs Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and other financial services to corporations, institutional investors, governments and individual clients. Its principal operating business is Jefferies Group, an investment banking and securities firm.

Jefferies provides advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other strategic transactions, along with equity and debt underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and securities services.