UBS Group Lowers Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $59.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price decreased by analysts at UBS Group from $76.00 to $59.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 63.91% from the stock’s previous close.

JEF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 7.0%

JEF stock traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $36.00. The stock had a trading volume of 4,956,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,390. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $35.53 and a 52-week high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 15,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target on JEF to $54 from $61 but kept a Buy rating, implying significant upside from current levels — this maintains institutional support despite the haircut. Goldman Sachs price target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies set its Q1 earnings release for March 25 after the close — a catalyst date for fresh company guidance and results that could swing sentiment. Q1 release announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Glancy Prongay & Murray, Frank R. Cruz, Pomerantz) are publicly investigating Jefferies over potential securities‑law violations stemming from prior disclosures — these probes raise litigation risk, possible settlements and reputational damage. Glancy probe
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies faces at least one suit and related probes reported in the press, adding to legal and regulatory uncertainty that likely pressures the stock multiple and investor sentiment. First Brands lawsuit coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley downgraded JEF to Equal‑Weight citing credit and legal risks, signaling that at least one major broker sees limited near‑term upside given the current issues. Morgan Stanley downgrade

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.