The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $535.75.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $472.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of GS opened at $593.51 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $515.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12-month low of $334.55 and a 12-month high of $607.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $1.51. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,359,435.50. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,390 shares of company stock valued at $6,656,119 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% in the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.