Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Price Target Cut to $75.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $81.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 37.01% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on JEF. Oppenheimer cut shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 9.2 %

NYSE JEF traded down $5.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $54.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,913,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,295. Jefferies Financial Group has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37 and a beta of 1.37. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.40 and a 200 day moving average of $69.52.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.31). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JEF. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is owned by 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.