The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target to $47.00

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.00 to $47.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on JEF. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE:JEF opened at $39.84 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.07 and its 200-day moving average is $56.36. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1-year low of $35.53 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 1.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 29,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 6,403 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,574,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 593.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 185,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,513,000 after buying an additional 159,016 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced (0.40 per share, ~4.0% yield) — supports income investors and provides baseline shareholder support.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually large options activity — investors bought a big volume of JEF calls, signaling some speculative/hedged bullish interest in the shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Profit rose on dealmaking: Jefferies reported higher profits driven by investment‑banking revenue, which underpins the firm’s strength in advisory and markets. Jefferies profit rises on dealmaking
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 results characterized as mixed — some outlets say earnings met consensus and revenue rose on strong IB and equities, but other reporting highlights offsetting weakness in fixed income and private credit. JEF’s Q1 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies’ research team made portfolio moves unrelated to JEF’s balance sheet (Christopher Wood sold HDFC Bank and cut India weightings) — reputational/newsflow effect for Jefferies as a broker, but indirect for JEF share value. Jefferies’ Chris Wood sells HDFC Bank
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑lending blowups produced a tangible charge (reported ~$17M in losses), which directly pressured quarterly results and investor sentiment around Jefferies’ credit exposure. How Did Private-Lending Blowups Affect Jefferies’ Bottom Line?
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies disclosed an additional ~$10M First Brands loss/write‑off — another hit tied to credit exposures that reduced reported profitability. Jefferies reports new $10mn First Brands loss
• Negative Sentiment: Investor litigation inquiry: Pomerantz LLP has opened an investigation into claims on behalf of JEF investors, which raises legal/settlement risk and can weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Jefferies
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman lowered its JEF price target (from $54 to $47) — while maintaining a buy, the cut reduces the analyst‑implied upside and can damp buying interest. Goldman Sachs lowed JEF price target

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.