Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Upgraded by UBS Group to Strong-Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CG. TD Cowen cut their price target on Carlyle Group from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Carlyle Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.14.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

CG stock traded down $1.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.35. 1,970,562 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,713,547. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 2.49. Carlyle Group has a 52 week low of $33.02 and a 52 week high of $69.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 2.06.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $782.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Carlyle Group will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is presently 78.21%.

Insider Activity

In other Carlyle Group news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 625,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.55, for a total value of $35,343,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 27,999,644 shares in the company, valued at $1,583,379,868.20. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 26.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carlyle Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Carlyle Group by 150.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Carlyle Group by 755.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Carlyle Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Carlyle Group by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carlyle Group Company Profile

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.