Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) fell to a new 52-week low during trading on Friday, following a downgrade from Oppenheimer. The firm reduced its price target for the stock from $97.00 to $74.00, while maintaining an outperform rating. At its lowest point, Jefferies’ stock traded at $35.53 before recovering slightly to $35.9950 with a trading volume of over 5 million shares. This drop follows a previous closing price of $38.71.
Several other analysts have also recently adjusted their views on Jefferies Financial Group. On Wednesday, Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell.” The following day, UBS Group lowered their target price from $76.00 to $59.00, while keeping a “buy” rating. Goldman Sachs also revised its target, bringing it down from $61.00 to $54.00, maintaining a “buy” rating on the stock.
On March 9, Morgan Stanley downgraded Jefferies from “overweight” to “equal weight,” setting a price objective of $49.00. Currently, three analysts have rated the stock as a buy, three have issued hold ratings, and one has assigned a sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the consensus rating for Jefferies is “hold,” with a target price of $60.00.
Institutional Investors Adjust Holdings
Recent activity among institutional investors reflects a mix of confidence and caution regarding Jefferies Financial Group. During the fourth quarter, Dean Capital Management increased its stake by 27.6%, now owning 29,603 shares valued at approximately $1.83 million. Alberta Investment Management Corp also entered a new position in Jefferies, valued at around $1.57 million.
In a more significant move, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. expanded its holdings by nearly 594%, acquiring an additional 159,016 shares to reach a total of 185,791 shares worth about $11.51 million. EP Wealth Advisors LLC and NewEdge Advisors LLC also made adjustments, with the latter increasing its position by 8.3%.
As of now, institutional investors hold approximately 60.88% of Jefferies Financial Group’s stock.
Financial Performance and Future Outlook
Jefferies Financial Group’s stock has exhibited volatility, with a 50-day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $58.19. The company, which boasts a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, has a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 1.52.
In its most recent quarterly earnings report, released on January 7, Jefferies reported earnings of $0.96 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.83. The firm’s revenue for the quarter amounted to $2.07 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. This performance represents a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.7%, compared to $0.91 EPS in the same quarter last year. Analysts project that Jefferies will post an average of $4.41 earnings per share for the current year.
Following its earnings report, Jefferies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on February 27. This indicates an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a yield of 4.4%, with a payout ratio of 56.54%.
Founded as a diversified financial services company, Jefferies provides a range of investment banking, capital markets, and asset management services to clients globally. The firm specializes in advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity underwriting, and restructuring. With a growing asset management division, Jefferies aims to offer tailored investment solutions across both public and private markets.
