Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CG. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Carlyle Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Carlyle Group in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Carlyle Group in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.36.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CG opened at $48.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.07. Carlyle Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.02 and a fifty-two week high of $69.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.03). Carlyle Group had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 23.62%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Carlyle Group will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is presently 64.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 625,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.55, for a total value of $35,343,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,999,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,583,379,868.20. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 26.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 150.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Carlyle Group by 755.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager that invests across a range of strategies including private equity, real assets (such as real estate and infrastructure), global credit, and investment solutions. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Carlyle raises and manages investment funds that acquire, operate and exit companies and assets on behalf of institutional and private investors. The firm is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange and operates as an asset manager and investment advisor rather than as an operating company.

Carlyle’s core activities include sourcing and executing private equity buyouts and growth investments, originating and managing credit and financing solutions, and acquiring and operating real asset portfolios.