Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Lowered to $59.00 at UBS Group

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at UBS Group from $76.00 to $59.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 63.91% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on JEF. Zacks Research downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jefferies Financial Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.29.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEF traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.00. The stock had a trading volume of 4,956,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,390. The company has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12-month low of $35.53 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.03 and a 200-day moving average of $58.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.13. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,211,375 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,984,055 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $145,584,000. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 129.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,358,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $219,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munro Partners bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,470,000. 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: Goldman Sachs cut its price target on JEF to $54 from $61 but kept a Buy rating, implying significant upside from current levels — this maintains institutional support despite the haircut. Goldman Sachs price target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies set its Q1 earnings release for March 25 after the close — a catalyst date for fresh company guidance and results that could swing sentiment. Q1 release announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms (Glancy Prongay & Murray, Frank R. Cruz, Pomerantz) are publicly investigating Jefferies over potential securities‑law violations stemming from prior disclosures — these probes raise litigation risk, possible settlements and reputational damage. Glancy probe
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies faces at least one suit and related probes reported in the press, adding to legal and regulatory uncertainty that likely pressures the stock multiple and investor sentiment. First Brands lawsuit coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley downgraded JEF to Equal‑Weight citing credit and legal risks, signaling that at least one major broker sees limited near‑term upside given the current issues. Morgan Stanley downgrade

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.