UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Short Interest Up 38.6% in February

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,110,000 shares, a growth of 38.6% from the January 31st total of 5,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded UBS Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of UBS Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in UBS Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 65,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in UBS Group by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,528 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in UBS Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 85,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in UBS Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 11,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period.

UBS Group Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of UBS traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $33.32. 8,209,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,618. The company has a market cap of $106.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.26 and its 200-day moving average is $31.94. UBS Group has a 52 week low of $26.01 and a 52 week high of $35.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This is an increase from UBS Group’s previous annual dividend of $0.23. UBS Group’s dividend payout ratio is 19.08%.

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.