Banc of America Securities analyst Scott Buck rates Jefferies as a SELL:

a. Concerned about near-term profitability and that shareholder interests are a distant third behind clients and management and employees.

b. Aggressive investments in areas like investment banking will continue to weigh on profitability

c.  many areas of Jefferies’ business will remain sluggish for some time including underwriting and high-yield (HY) sales and trading.

d. Net-net — shareholders’ interests suffer at the expense of employees and management. Case in point: Year-to-date revenue is down 33% and comp expense is up 12% ; they suspended the dividend this quarter

d. $13 target, which is fair for a company we expect to earn a sub-10% return on investment for the next two years.

Track Scott’s pick at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=1499