The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Rating Lowered by HSBC

HSBC downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $608.00 target price on the investment management company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $569.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GS opened at $609.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $540.94 and its 200-day moving average is $499.16. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52-week low of $340.09 and a 52-week high of $612.73. The company has a market cap of $191.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.