Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

JEF has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $81.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 target price on Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of JEF opened at $53.53 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.37. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JEF. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently 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.