Zacks Research Downgrades Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) to Strong Sell

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on JEF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.29.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.37. Jefferies Financial Group has a fifty-two week low of $35.53 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,353,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $466,867,000 after purchasing an additional 363,219 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,972,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,167,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211,375 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,812,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 454,054 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,412,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 24,171 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Jefferies Financial Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major banks cut price targets but kept Buy ratings, implying continued institutional confidence and sizeable upside from current levels; UBS cut its target to $59 (from $76) and Goldman lowered its target to $54 (from $61). UBS Price Target Cut Goldman Price Target Cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies confirmed it will report Q1 results after the close on March 25 — a scheduled catalyst that could drive short?term volatility and reprice expectations. Q1 Release Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have launched or continued investigations into Jefferies (securities?fraud shareholder probes and related claims), heightening legal risk and potential liability. Firms publicizing inquiries include Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay & Murray, and the Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz. Pomerantz Notice Glancy Notice Frank Cruz Notice
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley downgraded JEF to Equal?weight, citing credit and legal risks — a direct sell?side signal that likely pressured sentiment and contributed to the decline. Morgan Stanley Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Press reports note Jefferies is facing a First Brands lawsuit and related probes — another headline risk that can increase uncertainty around potential liabilities and management distraction. First Brands Lawsuit

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides a range of investment banking, capital markets and asset management services to corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Through its core platform, Jefferies offers advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, restructuring and recapitalization. The firm also operates a global sales and trading business covering equities, fixed income and foreign exchange products, complemented by equity research and macroeconomic analysis.

In addition to its capital markets franchise, Jefferies maintains a growing asset management division that delivers customized investment solutions across public and private markets.