The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the November 15th total of 4,790,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of GS traded down $11.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $574.68. 2,070,769 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,194,850. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $180.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $562.91 and its 200-day moving average is $509.95. The Goldman Sachs Group has a fifty-two week low of $372.07 and a fifty-two week high of $612.73.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The investment management company reported $8.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $1.51. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.77 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 9.89%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 37.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 6,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.91, for a total value of $4,001,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,883 shares in the company, valued at $72,015,903.53. This trade represents a 5.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Lee sold 2,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.90, for a total transaction of $1,061,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,359,435.50. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,940 shares of company stock valued at $13,717,979. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Goldman Sachs Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GS. Waddell & Associates LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 896 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.8% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $485.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $614.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $520.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.75.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

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.