The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Short Interest Update

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 4,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of GS opened at $585.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $183.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12 month low of $365.00 and a 12 month high of $612.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $561.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $508.99.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $594.51, for a total transaction of $1,768,072.74. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,046,795.39. This represents a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,713,325,000 after acquiring an additional 7,475,140 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,042,640 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,991,772,000 after purchasing an additional 161,133 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 21.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,898,637 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,435,144,000 after buying an additional 521,054 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,780,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,257,602,000 after buying an additional 77,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,117,311 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $957,684,000 after acquiring an additional 68,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

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.