Bank of America Downgrades UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) to Underperform

Bank of America lowered shares of UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Kepler Capital Markets raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas raised UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Stock Performance

NYSE:UBS opened at $31.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.15. UBS Group has a 52-week low of $26.01 and a 52-week high of $35.84.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000.

UBS Group Company Profile

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.