UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.30.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $60.30 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of UBS Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

UBS Group Stock Performance

Shares of UBS opened at $42.63 on Tuesday. UBS Group has a 1 year low of $27.40 and a 1 year high of $49.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.58. The company has a market capitalization of $133.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $12.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 8.68%. UBS Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UBS Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of UBS Group by 73.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,912 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,927,000 after buying an additional 26,728 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in UBS Group by 18.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in UBS Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in UBS Group by 11.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in UBS Group by 62.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter.

About UBS Group

UBS Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services firm that provides a broad range of banking and capital markets services to private, institutional and corporate clients. Headquartered in Zurich, UBS operates as a universal bank with a primary focus on wealth management, asset management, investment banking and retail and commercial banking in Switzerland. The firm serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, pension funds, corporations and institutional investors through a global network of offices.

Key business activities include global wealth management—offering financial planning, investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management and custody services—alongside asset management products for institutional and retail investors.