Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other analysts have also weighed in on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $45.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $66.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.12. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.84%.

Jefferies Financial Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, June 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 665.4% during the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies’ expanded partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, including SMBC’s 20% stake in the venture, could strengthen JEF’s Japan equities, equity-capital-markets and investment-banking reach. The deeper alliance provides a potential long-term growth catalyst. Can Jefferies’ Expanded SMBC Partnership Bolster Its Growth in Japan?
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ research activity remains broad, with bullish calls on selected healthcare companies and positive views on SSE and Cordiant Digital Infrastructure. These reports may support the firm’s advisory and research franchise, but they do not directly change JEF’s earnings outlook. SSE investment plan stays on track as Jefferies retains buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies analysts cited strong, broad-based AI demand and visibility through 2028 at their Fully Connected conference, while also warning that Roblox’s recent rally may have been overly optimistic. These calls demonstrate ongoing research engagement but have limited direct impact on JEF. CoreWeave capacity constraints bolster Jefferies bull case
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms have lowered their expectations or price targets for Jefferies Financial Group, including Morgan Stanley, BMO Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs. The revisions reinforce concerns about limited near-term upside and are the clearest negative catalyst for JEF shares. Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.