BNP Paribas Downgrades UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) to Neutral

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. 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, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of UBS Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold.

UBS Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UBS opened at $27.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.26. UBS Group has a 1-year low of $18.71 and a 1-year high of $32.13.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The bank reported ($0.09) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $12.06 billion. UBS Group had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 43.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.228 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.18. UBS Group’s payout ratio is currently 2.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $233,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 26.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co acquired a new position in shares of UBS Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000.

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.