Morgan Stanley Cuts Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $49.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $49.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

JEF has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital set a $60.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, June 8th. Capital One Financial set a $57.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Thursday, September 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. 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 1.2%

JEF opened at $45.20 on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $66.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.15.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is 43.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $834,947,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,812,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,268,000 after acquiring an additional 454,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,942,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,390,000 after acquiring an additional 24,171 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $145,584,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 2nd quarter worth $127,242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reported record fiscal third-quarter investment-banking and equities results, supported by stronger mergers and acquisitions activity and equity issuance. The performance indicates a broader recovery in Wall Street dealmaking, although the benefit was partly offset by weaker asset management and fixed income. Jefferies Q3 IB, Equities Offset Weak Asset Management and Fixed Income
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40, payable November 25, reinforcing shareholder returns and providing some support for the stock’s investment case. Jefferies Financial Group to Issue Quarterly Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of the quarterly results highlighted a mixed earnings composition: record investment banking revenue points to improving deal activity, but the uneven contribution from asset management and fixed income limits confidence in the durability of earnings growth. What Jefferies’ Q3 Result Says About Wall Street’s Investment Banking Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have turned more cautious. Morgan Stanley reduced its price target to $49 from $50 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, signaling limited near-term upside. Morgan Stanley Adjusts Price Target on Jefferies Financial
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets also cut its price target for Jefferies, adding to valuation pressure and reinforcing concerns that the stock’s recent earnings strength may not fully offset weaker business segments. Jefferies Financial Group Stock Price Target Cut by BMO Capital Markets
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs issued a pessimistic forecast for JEF, while commentary following the results identified persistent asset-management challenges as a drag on earnings and investor sentiment. Goldman Sachs Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.