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

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,870,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the August 15th total of 5,320,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

The Goldman Sachs Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $484.70. 1,699,245 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,688. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $490.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $452.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The Goldman Sachs Group has a twelve month low of $289.36 and a twelve month high of $517.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The investment management company reported $8.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.52 by $0.10. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group will post 35.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $3.00 dividend. This is a positive change from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 46.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $464.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $504.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $490.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $513.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.44.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.99, for a total transaction of $1,770,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $6,119,949.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas K. Montag sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.04, for a total transaction of $5,050,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,287,748. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Goldman Sachs Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 103.3% during the second quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 61 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

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.