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

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,110,000 shares, an increase of 38.6% from the January 31st total of 5,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading 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 short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UBS Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,594,066,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 162.6% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 28,307,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $858,359,000 after acquiring an additional 17,525,749 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,533,620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,695,087,000 after acquiring an additional 12,609,616 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,591,000. Finally, SIH Partners LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of UBS Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,546,000.

UBS Group Stock Performance

NYSE UBS traded up $0.09 on Monday, hitting $34.38. 3,192,580 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,092,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.76, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.92. UBS Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.01 and a fifty-two week high of $35.84. The firm has a market cap of $110.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62 and a beta of 1.16.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its 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). UBS Group had a return on equity of 5.93% and a net margin of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.