Short Interest in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Grows By 9.0%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,090,000 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 4,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

GS traded down $4.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $396.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,459,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,148,238. The company has a market cap of $128.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $395.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $365.08. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 1 year low of $289.36 and a 1 year high of $419.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The investment management company reported $11.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.54 by $3.04. The firm had revenue of $14.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.94 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 8.65%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 32.76 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. Argus raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $465.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Edward Jones assumed coverage on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $382.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $410.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $434.93.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,602,947.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.15, for a total value of $1,634,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,357,659.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 12,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.43, for a total transaction of $5,001,372.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,947.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,907 shares of company stock worth $13,950,851. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 106.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 66 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 82.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 91 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 88.0% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 94 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.