Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $69.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.83.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 5.8%

JEF opened at $51.64 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $39.28 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.51.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during 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 7.25%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 45,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,505,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.