The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Short Interest Update

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 4,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

NYSE:GS traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $586.42. 1,712,924 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,194,356. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 52 week low of $372.07 and a 52 week high of $612.73. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $562.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $509.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market cap of $184.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.47 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The Goldman Sachs Group's payout ratio is 35.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HSBC lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $612.08, for a total value of $3,060,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 608,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $372,404,774. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GS. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.