Morgan Stanley Lowers Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $54.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE JEF opened at $56.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.45. Jefferies Financial Group has a one year low of $39.28 and a one year high of $82.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $50.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.89.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 7.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% in the first quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 161.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 346.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 758.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.