The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Downgraded to “Market Perform” Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $660.00 price target on the investment management company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $690.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 6.79% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res lowered The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $713.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $736.00 to $782.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $680.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.69.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $618.04 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $381.42 and a fifty-two week high of $672.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $614.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.19. The firm has a market cap of $192.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.39.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.48 EPS. Analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, Treasurer Carey Halio sold 1,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.67, for a total transaction of $965,115.15. Following the transaction, the treasurer now owns 8,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,117,296.64. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total transaction of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,455 shares in the company, valued at $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,475 shares of company stock valued at $19,692,543 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $3,713,325,000 after buying an additional 7,475,140 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,603,315,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $944,334,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $624,844,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 14,007.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,059,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $606,815,000 after buying an additional 1,052,204 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.