Goldman Sachs Group Inc Stock Hold Recommendation Reiterated (GS)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a hold with a ratings score of C .

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Despite the weak revenue results, GS has outperformed against the industry average of 29.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 10.0%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC' earnings per share from the most recent quarter came in slightly below the year earlier quarter. The company has reported a trend of declining earnings per share over the past year. However, the consensus estimate suggests that this trend should reverse in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC reported lower earnings of $4.41 versus $13.14 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($10.89 versus $4.41).
• The change in net income from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the Capital Markets industry average, but is less than that of the S&P 500. The net income has decreased by 11.5% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $1,087.00 million to $962.00 million.
• Looking at the price performance of GS's shares over the past 12 months, there is not much good news to report: the stock is down 25.47%, and it has underformed the S&P 500 Index. In addition, the company's earnings per share are lower today than the year-earlier quarter. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor. However, in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services, as well as a range of financial services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.3, above the average financial services industry P/E ratio of 14.2and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Goldman Sachs Group has a market cap of $48.11 billion and is part of the financial sector and financial services industry. Shares are up 8.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

You can view the full Goldman Sachs Group Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Goldman Sachs Group Inc click any of the following:

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