The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Here’s Why

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $881.00 and last traded at $889.9490. 2,029,297 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 9% from the average daily volume of 2,224,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $904.72.

More The Goldman Sachs Group News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded GS from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $1,100 price target, implying approximately 25.6% upside from the referenced share price. However, the target was reduced from $1,200, which somewhat tempers the bullish signal. Freedom Broker upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reported particularly strong equities performance in the third quarter, with net revenue rising 72% year over year to $6.44 billion. Robust client activity, financing demand and derivatives contributed to the result, supporting optimism about earnings momentum. Goldman Sachs equities revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Goldman Sachs to a Rank #2 (“Buy”), citing improving expectations for the company’s earnings prospects. Zacks upgrades Goldman Sachs to Buy

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $955.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,325.00 to $1,175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $995.00 to $1,007.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $970.00 to $950.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,052.48.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $959.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $990.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.29.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The investment management company reported $17.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $12.86 by $4.15. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.83 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 70.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $5.00 per share. This represents a $20.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GS. Orange County Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at about $69,537,544,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $24,172,123,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $6,756,772,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $2,560,028,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at about $2,024,921,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, asset management and wealth management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individual investors. Its investment banking activities include advising on mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings, restructurings and other strategic transactions.

Through its global markets businesses, Goldman Sachs helps clients buy and sell securities and other financial instruments and provides financing, risk management and market-making services.