Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Finviz reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $92.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE JEF opened at $58.44 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.49. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 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.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Jefferies Financial Group had a net margin of 10.57% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,130,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.