Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 12th, 2026

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on JEF. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $67.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.86.

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Jefferies Financial Group Price Performance

Jefferies Financial Group stock opened at $44.39 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group has a 52 week low of $35.53 and a 52 week high of $66.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.57.

Jefferies Financial Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buy back $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Jefferies Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Jefferies Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.84%.

Institutional Trading of Jefferies Financial Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $834,947,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $127,242,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $107,044,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter worth $79,537,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $66,971,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

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Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a diversified financial services company that provides investment banking, capital markets, asset management and other financial services to corporations, institutional investors, governments and individual clients. Its principal operating business is Jefferies Group, an investment banking and securities firm.

Jefferies provides advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other strategic transactions, along with equity and debt underwriting, sales and trading, research, prime brokerage and securities services.