UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

UBS Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UBS opened at $33.04 on Thursday. UBS Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.00 and a fifty-two week high of $35.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 1.16.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that UBS Group will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s payout ratio is currently 15.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000.

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.