Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in UBS Group AG by 443.0%, owning 151,280 shares valued at approximately $4.60 million at the end of the latest quarter.
• UBS Group recently received improved ratings from analysts, transitioning from a "sell" to a "hold" and further upgrades to "buy," resulting in a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $11.55 billion for the quarter, significantly surpassing the forecasted $9.77 billion.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Free Report) by 443.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,280 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 123,422 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in UBS Group were worth $4,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,302 shares of the bank's stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 195,629 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,931,000 after buying an additional 33,126 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in UBS Group by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in UBS Group by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,789,899 shares of the bank's stock worth $54,792,000 after acquiring an additional 457,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in UBS Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,633 shares of the bank's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UBS. Morgan Stanley cut shares of UBS Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded UBS Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

UBS Group Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE UBS traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,483,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,191,306. The stock has a market cap of $119.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.18. UBS Group AG has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $38.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 9.21%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

UBS Group 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.