The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Oppenheimer cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,145.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $1,299.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,120.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,062.86.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE GS opened at $975.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,042.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $977.25. The company has a market capitalization of $284.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.29. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12 month low of $740.01 and a 12 month high of $1,153.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.47 by $6.51. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.22 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 68.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $5.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.50. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 30.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Orange County Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $69,537,544,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,172,123,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,564,783 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $17,197,444,000 after buying an additional 394,198 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,756,772,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,771,556 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,952,199,000 after acquiring an additional 110,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Key The Goldman Sachs Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs Alternatives raised $11.7 billion across new private-equity funds, including $9.6 billion for West Street Capital Partners IX, an Asia-focused fund and co-investment vehicles. The fundraising strengthens Goldman’s asset-management franchise and could generate longer-term management and performance fees. Goldman Sachs asset arm raises $11.7 billion in private equity funds
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman is reportedly targeting middle-market transactions with the newly raised capital, expanding its potential deal pipeline and reinforcing investor demand for its private-markets products. Goldman Sachs Targets Middle-Market Deals After Raising $11.7B
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs Asset Management is expected to participate as an anchor investor in the National Stock Exchange of India’s potential IPO. The move could support client relationships and investment-banking opportunities, although it is not a direct earnings catalyst for GS. Goldman, Templeton, Fidelity said to plan buying into NSE IPO
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs and other major brokerages now expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points this week, with another increase potentially priced for December. Higher rates can pressure equity valuations, slow deal activity and increase recession concerns. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan expect Fed rate hike this week
• Negative Sentiment: Surging oil prices and geopolitical disruptions are adding to inflation risk. Goldman warned crude could reach $120 per barrel if supply tensions persist, increasing the likelihood of tighter monetary policy and weaker economic growth. Oil prices rise as Saudi energy infrastructure attacks raise supply fears

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc (NYSE:GS) is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, asset management and wealth management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The company is headquartered in New York City and serves clients across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

Through its Global Banking & Markets segment, Goldman Sachs advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, restructuring and other strategic transactions.