UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of UBS Group in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. BNP Paribas cut shares of UBS Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of UBS Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.30.

UBS Group Price Performance

NYSE:UBS opened at $47.38 on Thursday. UBS Group has a 52-week low of $25.75 and a 52-week high of $48.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.90 and a 200 day moving average of $40.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.12.

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.28. UBS Group had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 11.02%.The firm had revenue of $12.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that UBS Group will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On UBS Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of UBS Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,878,061,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in UBS Group by 254.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 63,671,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,601,589,000 after acquiring an additional 45,731,061 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of UBS Group by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 77,353,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,171,497,000 after acquiring an additional 13,417,945 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in shares of UBS Group by 407.5% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 13,096,560 shares of the bank’s stock worth $534,852,000 after acquiring an additional 10,516,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of UBS Group by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 58,424,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,975,903,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448,219 shares during the period.

UBS Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting UBS Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS is a step closer to a U.S. national bank charter, receiving first conditional approval — this opens the path to an expanded U.S. banking franchise, potential deposit funding benefits and regulatory clarity that investors typically view as value‑positive. Reuters: Swiss bank UBS closer to getting national bank charter for US franchise MSN: UBS wins first conditional nod for U.S. bank charter
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party recognition of UBS as a value stock may attract income/value investors and supports analyst interest. Zacks: UBS is a Top‑Ranked Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Sergio Ermotti reiterated preference for an internal successor — signals continuity in strategy and less governance uncertainty, a modest positive for long‑term stability but not an immediate earnings driver. Reuters: UBS CEO Ermotti on internal successor
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational and research activity: UBS hired a financial advisor in Bellevue (small workforce news); UBS research actions (raising Vistra price target, downgrading GE HealthCare, gold outlook, comments on Novo Nordisk) reflect normal brokerage activity that can move individual stocks but are marginal to UBS’s own valuation. BusinessWire: UBS hires Jeff Miller InsiderMonkey: UBS raises Vistra price target Barron’s: UBS downgrades GE HealthCare Proactive: UBS on gold Proactive: UBS on Novo Nordisk
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS notified FireFly Metals that it has ceased to be a substantial holder — routine portfolio/holdings disclosure with negligible impact on UBS fundamentals. TipRanks: UBS ceases to be substantial holder in FireFly Metals

UBS Group Company Profile

UBS Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services firm that provides a broad range of banking and capital markets services to private, institutional and corporate clients. Headquartered in Zurich, UBS operates as a universal bank with a primary focus on wealth management, asset management, investment banking and retail and commercial banking in Switzerland. The firm serves high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, pension funds, corporations and institutional investors through a global network of offices.

Key business activities include global wealth management—offering financial planning, investment advisory, discretionary portfolio management and custody services—alongside asset management products for institutional and retail investors.