Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Raised to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was upgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of JEF stock opened at $62.37 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.51. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.02 and its 200 day moving average is $55.44.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 11,895.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 61,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 61,145 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 114,500.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 3,435 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 6.8% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 59,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,191,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.