UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.85, but opened at $32.87. UBS Group shares last traded at $32.98, with a volume of 371,163 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on UBS. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.08. The company has a market cap of $106.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.09) EPS. UBS Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that UBS Group AG will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a yield of 2.1%. UBS Group’s payout ratio is presently 19.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UBS Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in UBS Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of UBS Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 206,803 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after buying an additional 29,367 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in UBS Group by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 37,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares in the last quarter.

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.