Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Carlyle Group shares gapped down before trading, opening at $42.42 after closing at $44.49 and later trading around $41.66, reflecting a roughly 4.5% drop.
• Analysts have turned more cautious, with several firms cutting price targets; the consensus rating is now “Hold” and the average target price is $62.00, though one firm set a bearish $45 target.
• Recent earnings disappointed, as Carlyle missed EPS estimates and posted revenue of $750.9 million versus the expected $1.01 billion, with revenue falling 28% year over year.

Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.49, but opened at $42.42. Carlyle Group shares last traded at $41.66, with a volume of 849,673 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $81.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cfra cut shares of Carlyle Group to a "sell" rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

Carlyle Group Stock Down 4.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.56.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.02). Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 13.46%.The business had revenue of $750.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Carlyle Group Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Carlyle Group's payout ratio is presently 95.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Group news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $23,340,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,399,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,279,015,381.92. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 25.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,658 shares during the last quarter. Regents of The University of California bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $73,360,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Carlyle Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 18,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Carlyle Group by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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