Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

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

JEF has been the subject of a number of other reports. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $76.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $61.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.29.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.51 and a 200 day moving average of $58.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Jefferies Financial Group has a 12 month low of $35.53 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,353,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,867,000 after acquiring an additional 363,219 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 422.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,211,375 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 3,812,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,268,000 after purchasing an additional 454,054 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 696.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,942,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,390,000 after purchasing an additional 24,171 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Jefferies Financial Group News

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

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.