The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Sets New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $612.75 and last traded at $607.50, with a volume of 381509 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.92.

The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.48 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,489 shares in the company, valued at $5,046,795.39. The trade was a 25.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 117,883 shares in the company, valued at $72,015,903.53. This represents a 5.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,940 shares of company stock worth $12,656,179 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 63 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 6,300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 64 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $192.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $585.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $527.58. 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 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.