Short Interest in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Declines By 18.4%

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, a decline of 18.4% from the February 28th total of 4,840,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE GS opened at $564.24 on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group has a one year low of $387.12 and a one year high of $672.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $176.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $603.45 and its 200-day moving average is $573.30.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The investment management company reported $11.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.21 by $3.74. The firm had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.36 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer downgraded The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $605.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $782.00 to $659.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $591.87.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, Director Kevin R. Johnson acquired 2,400 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $619.02 per share, with a total value of $1,485,648.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,485,648. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 2,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $627.01, for a total value of $1,275,338.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,349.55. This trade represents a 23.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,925 shares of company stock valued at $12,630,683 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.