The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Price

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.00 to $47.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.57% from the company’s current price.

JEF has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $68.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $97.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $49.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.14.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 0.8%

Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,233,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,113,594. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 1.52. Jefferies Financial Group has a 1 year low of $35.53 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.70.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.19). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 6.56%.The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Jefferies Financial Group’s revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Jefferies Financial Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JEF. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in Jefferies Financial Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Nvwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Jefferies Financial Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investment‑banking strength drove revenue growth—total net revenues rose to about $2.02B and investment banking net revenues exceeded $1.0B, helping year‑over‑year profit improvement. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend (4.0% yield), a near‑term cash return that can support the share price. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Takeover/speculation chatter has buoyed sentiment at times as investors revisit strategic options and potential bids. That speculation remains unresolved but provides upside optionality. Zacks: Takeover Speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 headline results are mixed: revenue rose ~26.6% versus last year, but EPS reporting has been read differently across outlets (company reported $0.70 diluted EPS; some summaries show consensus comparisons). The mixed reads are producing varied analyst reactions. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit and small‑loan blowups hit results: Jefferies disclosed roughly $17M in losses tied to two collapsed private‑lending positions, which trimmed profitability and raised credit‑risk concerns. Barron’s: Private Credit Losses
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also wrote off additional exposure (reported ~$10M related to First Brands), amplifying the headline that credit losses eroded some of the investment‑banking windfall. Financial Times: First Brands Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder litigation and investigator notices (Pomerantz, Bronstein) citing potential claims have emerged, increasing legal and reputational risk for investors. PR Newswire: Pomerantz Investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pushback: BMO cut its Jefferies price target to $42, signaling caution from at least one large shop and limiting near‑term upside until credit and legal issues clarify. American Banking News: BMO Lowers PT

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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.