UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Downgraded to “Neutral” at Citigroup

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

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

UBS Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UBS opened at $27.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.26. UBS Group has a fifty-two week low of $18.71 and a fifty-two week high of $32.13.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $10.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.06 billion. UBS Group had a net margin of 43.70% and a return on equity of 7.56%. UBS Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that UBS Group will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in UBS Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,514 shares of the bank’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in UBS Group by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in UBS Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,364 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in UBS Group by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in UBS Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,302 shares of the bank’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter.

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.