The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CG. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of The Carlyle Group from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.93.

The Carlyle Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of The Carlyle Group stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $51.77. The company had a trading volume of 3,989,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,799,539. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.31. The Carlyle Group has a twelve month low of $36.65 and a twelve month high of $57.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.70.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 24.91%. Analysts anticipate that The Carlyle Group will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The Carlyle Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 482.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,919,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,651,000 after purchasing an additional 777,304 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 302,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,537 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC acquired a new stake in The Carlyle Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,671,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 443.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 157,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,789,000 after acquiring an additional 128,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company's stock.

The Carlyle Group Company Profile

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.