The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Short Interest Update

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 4,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of GS traded down $11.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $574.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,070,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,194,850. 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 has a one year low of $372.07 and a one year high of $612.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $562.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $509.95.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HSBC cut The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $569.00 to $608.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $570.00 to $686.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $565.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total value of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,359,435.50. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,416 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.36, for a total value of $3,826,245.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,614 shares in the company, valued at $34,358,685.04. This trade represents a 10.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,940 shares of company stock worth $13,717,979. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30,068.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,500,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,713,325,000 after purchasing an additional 7,475,140 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $2,991,772,000 after acquiring an additional 161,133 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 521,054 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 77,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 68,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.