UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded UBS from "underweight" to "equal weight" in a note to investors, signaling a more neutral stance on the stock.
• UBS beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.37 versus $0.25 expected and revenue of $12.20 billion, up 10.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with a $60.30 average target, based on 1 Strong Buy, 5 Buy, 6 Hold and 1 Sell ratings.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on UBS. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of UBS Group in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of UBS Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, UBS Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.30.

UBS Group Price Performance

UBS Group stock opened at $43.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63. UBS Group has a 52-week low of $27.40 and a 52-week high of $49.36. The firm has a market cap of $136.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day moving average is $40.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 139,105,725 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,423,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758,287 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in UBS Group during the fourth quarter worth about $4,889,413,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in UBS Group by 21.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 77,353,590 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,171,497,000 after purchasing an additional 13,417,945 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in UBS Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 64,107,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,968,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,827 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in UBS Group by 254.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 63,671,310 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,601,589,000 after purchasing an additional 45,731,061 shares during the period.

About UBS Group

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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