Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $75.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.83% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut Jefferies Financial Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $75.00 price target on Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st.

Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

JEF opened at $43.08 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.94 and a 200 day moving average of $69.25. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a 52-week low of $40.72 and a 52-week high of $82.68.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.28). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 10.57%. 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 previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JEF. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

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.