UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Lowered to Neutral at Citigroup

Citigroup lowered shares of UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on UBS. BNP Paribas cut shares of UBS Group from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded UBS Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded UBS Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Societe Generale raised UBS Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold.

UBS Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UBS opened at $28.39 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.66 and its 200-day moving average is $28.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.09. UBS Group has a 1-year low of $18.71 and a 1-year high of $32.13.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $10.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.06 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 43.70% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.228 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 61.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 118.5% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co bought a new stake in UBS Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000.

About UBS Group

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.