The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Stock Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,052.48.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $950.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Friday.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE GS traded down $15.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $876.07. 1,781,312 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,316,316. The company’s fifty day moving average is $959.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $990.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.10. The Goldman Sachs Group has a fifty-two week low of $754.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,153.99. The stock has a market cap of $255.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.29.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The investment management company reported $17.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.86 by $4.15. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $12.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 70.89 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $5.00 per share. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 28.76%.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 316.7% in the second quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC now owns 25 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 188.9% in the second quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 26 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 30 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded GS from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $1,100 price target, implying approximately 25.6% upside from the referenced share price. However, the target was reduced from $1,200, which somewhat tempers the bullish signal. Freedom Broker upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reported particularly strong equities performance in the third quarter, with net revenue rising 72% year over year to $6.44 billion. Robust client activity, financing demand and derivatives contributed to the result, supporting optimism about earnings momentum. Goldman Sachs equities revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Goldman Sachs to a Rank #2 (“Buy”), citing improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects. Zacks upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy

About The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, asset management and wealth management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individual investors. Its investment banking activities include advising on mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings, restructurings and other strategic transactions.

Through its global markets businesses, Goldman Sachs helps clients buy and sell securities and other financial instruments and provides financing, risk management and market-making services.