UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,880,000 shares, a decline of 25.7% from the April 30th total of 9,260,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UBS. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in UBS Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in UBS Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of UBS Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000.

UBS Group Price Performance

UBS traded down $0.44 on Wednesday, hitting $33.02. 481,453 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,365,265. The firm has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. UBS Group has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $35.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.87.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $11.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.19 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered UBS Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Monday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of UBS Group from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised UBS Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About UBS Group

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.