UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given UBS a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 12 firms (1 sell, 5 hold, 5 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1-year price target of $60.30.
• UBS beat quarterly estimates, reporting $0.37 EPS vs. $0.25 expected and revenue of $12.2 billion (vs. $9.88B est.), with revenue up 10.3% year-over-year and a net margin of 10.88%.
• The bank declared a special dividend of $0.55 per share payable April 23 (ex-dividend April 22); the stock opened at about $39.69 and trades within a 52-week range of $25.75–$49.36 with a market cap near $124 billion.

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.30.

UBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $60.30 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut UBS Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

UBS Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UBS opened at $39.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.60. UBS Group has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $49.36. The firm has a market cap of $123.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.16.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $12.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.88 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 10.88%.UBS Group's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd.

Institutional Trading of UBS Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in UBS Group by 73.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,912 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 26,728 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in UBS Group by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,518 shares of the bank's stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in UBS Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 41,772 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in UBS Group by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,111 shares of the bank's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in UBS Group by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,497 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services firm that provides a broad range of banking and capital markets services to private, institutional and corporate clients. Headquartered in Zurich, UBS operates as a universal bank with a primary focus on wealth management, asset management, investment banking and retail and commercial banking in Switzerland. The firm serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, pension funds, corporations and institutional investors through a global network of offices.

Key business activities include global wealth management—offering financial planning, investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management and custody services—alongside asset management products for institutional and retail investors.

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