The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Goldman Sachs from hold to buy, adding to generally positive analyst sentiment around the stock.
• Goldman Sachs delivered a beat-and-raise style quarter, reporting EPS of $20.98 versus $14.47 expected and revenue of $20.34 billion versus $16.22 billion expected, with revenue up 39.4% year over year.
• Several firms have recently raised price targets, including Citigroup, BMO Capital Markets, and Bank of America, while the broader consensus still sits at Hold with a target price of about $1,061.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,050.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CICC Research raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $825.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,070.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1,061.43.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GS opened at $1,066.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,035.20 and a 200-day moving average of $945.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.30. The Goldman Sachs Group has a fifty-two week low of $691.88 and a fifty-two week high of $1,153.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The investment management company reported $20.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $14.47 by $6.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 15.53%.The business had revenue of $20.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. The Goldman Sachs Group's revenue was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 64.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Alex S. Golten sold 1,116 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $936.18, for a total transaction of $1,044,776.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,413,472.04. The trade was a 30.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 10,301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $929.17, for a total transaction of $9,571,380.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,889,079.46. This represents a 61.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,566 shares of company stock worth $30,712,978. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 287.5% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Steph & Co. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key The Goldman Sachs Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs was added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock after its strong quarterly results.
• Positive Sentiment: The bank also made Zacks’ Strong Buy income stocks list, reflecting investor interest in Goldman Sachs as a dividend and total-return play.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Goldman Sachs to $1,300 from $1,150 and kept a buy rating, implying additional upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan and other commentary highlighted Goldman Sachs’ strong first-half M&A performance, along with record Q2 results and a 25% dividend increase plus a $4 billion share repurchase program.
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ equity underwriting revenue jumped sharply, helped by renewed capital markets activity and AI-related deal flow, which supports optimism for future investment banking revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Goldman Sachs disclosed a 3.5% voting interest in Qiagen, a portfolio-related filing that is not clearly material to Goldman’s own earnings outlook.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs' core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

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