Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on JEF. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Capital One Financial set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.7%

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $43.58 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.62. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $66.60. The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $834,947,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,666,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,015,000 after purchasing an additional 58,585 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,242,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $107,044,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the second quarter worth approximately $79,537,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies presented its global platform as strengthening and emphasized opportunities for continued earnings growth, supporting the company’s longer-term investment case. Jefferies Showcases Strengthening Global Platform and Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The investor-day presentation and transcript provide additional detail on Jefferies’ strategy, business lines and growth targets, but investors appear focused on execution and the timing of financial benefits. Jefferies Financial Group Analyst/Investor Day Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies analysts remained constructive on several Indian banks, including Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. These calls may demonstrate the strength of Jefferies’ research and investment-banking franchise, but they do not directly change JEF’s earnings outlook. PNB Shares and Jefferies Target Price Calls
• Negative Sentiment: The stock slid as management sought to reassure investors during the investor day, suggesting the event did not fully satisfy expectations regarding growth, profitability or execution. Jefferies Stock Slides as Management Seeks to Reassure at Investor Day
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies’ rating to Hold, adding to the cautious tone around the shares and potentially limiting near-term buying interest. Jefferies Financial Group Stock Rating Cut to Hold

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc (NYSE:JEF) is a diversified financial services company that operates primarily through its investment banking and capital markets subsidiary, Jefferies LLC. The company provides advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and other corporate transactions, along with equity and debt underwriting, securities sales and trading, research, and prime brokerage services.

Jefferies also manages and invests capital through asset management and merchant banking activities.