Short Interest in UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) Increases By 52.5%

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 12,370,000 shares, an increase of 52.5% from the February 13th total of 8,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

UBS Group Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of UBS stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.79. The company had a trading volume of 7,312,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,165,858. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day moving average is $32.04. UBS Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.01 and a fifty-two week high of $35.84.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. Research analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UBS Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UBS. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of UBS Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in UBS Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

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.