Short Interest in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Expands By 5.7%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,790,000 shares, a growth of 5.7% from the October 31st total of 4,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GS traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $599.63. 298,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,204,828. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $545.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $501.59. The Goldman Sachs Group has a 12-month low of $340.54 and a 12-month high of $612.73. The stock has a market cap of $188.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.15 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

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 $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Viniar sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $612.08, for a total value of $3,060,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 608,425 shares in the company, valued at $372,404,774. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,940 shares of company stock valued at $13,717,979. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GS. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $563.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wolfe Research raised The Goldman Sachs Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.88.

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.