UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Cut to “Underperform” at Bank of America

Bank of America cut shares of UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, UBS Group has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Price Performance

UBS Group stock opened at $31.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.21. UBS Group has a 12 month low of $26.01 and a 12 month high of $35.84. The company has a market cap of $102.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.15.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.08). UBS Group had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 5.93%. The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group’s payout ratio is 14.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of UBS Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in UBS Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in UBS Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in UBS Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

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.