Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

JEF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. 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 research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

NYSE JEF opened at $44.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.51. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.57. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $66.60.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buy back $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.84%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 86.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 351,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,077,000 after purchasing an additional 42,679 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $3,427,000 after purchasing an additional 29,899 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: JEF has a consensus analyst price target of $56.86, well above its recent trading level, indicating that Wall Street sees meaningful potential upside if earnings momentum improves. Jefferies Financial Group Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $56.86
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results, supported by a recovery in global dealmaking, investment banking and equities trading. However, the improvement has not fully translated into investor confidence because asset-management performance remains weak and investors continue to monitor the company’s credit exposure. Jefferies Financial Group Record Banking Revenue Is Not Enough to Resolve the Valuation Discount
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s valuation discount remains the central concern. Even with record banking revenue, investors appear unwilling to re-rate JEF until weaker asset management improves and credit-related risks become clearer. The shares have also fallen substantially over the year, reflecting skepticism about the durability of the earnings recovery.

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.