UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UBS Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of UBS Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UBS Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in UBS Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in UBS Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 29,367 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in UBS Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $354,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the period.

UBS Group Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE UBS traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.37. 3,085,024 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,195,882. UBS Group has a 12-month low of $26.01 and a 12-month high of $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $97.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.30.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.90 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from UBS Group's previous annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. UBS Group's payout ratio is presently 14.47%.

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG provides financial advice and solutions to private, institutional, and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five divisions: Global Wealth Management, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management, Investment Bank, and Non-core and Legacy. The company offers investment advice, estate and wealth planning, investing, corporate and banking, and investment management, as well as mortgage, securities-based, and structured lending solutions.