UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UBS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

UBS Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:UBS opened at $33.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76. UBS Group has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $35.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.64.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.90 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s payout ratio is presently 15.13%.

Institutional Trading of UBS Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UBS. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UBS Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 117,613 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 65,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 85,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 11,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter.

UBS Group Company Profile

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.