Market Update: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs to pay $5bln in U.S. Justice Dept mortgage bond pact

[Reuters] – Goldman Sachs Group Inc has agreed to pay $5.06 billion to settle claims that it misled mortgage bond investors during the financial crisis, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday. The settlement, which Goldman disclosed in January, stems from Goldman’s conduct in its packaging, securitization, marketing and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2007 and 2009, the Justice Department said. Investors suffered billions of dollars in losses from the securities bought during the period, the Justice Department said. Read more on this. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) , with a current value of $64.44B, opened this morning at $151.18. Today’s price range has been between $150.41 and $153.80 per share with the price of the stock fluctuating between $139.05 to $218.77 over the last 52 weeks. GS shares are currently priced at 9.95x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry’s 11.55x earnings multiple. And for those looking to make a return holding the stock, the company pays shareholders $2.60 per share annually in dividends, yielding 1.73%. According to a consensus of 20 analysts, the earnings estimate of $2.67 per share would be $3.27 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $2.39 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $15.11, which would be a $2.97 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $7.24 Billion. If reported, that would be a 31.83% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, JP Morgan upgraded GS from Underweight to Overweight (Feb 16, 2016). Previously, Nomura upgraded GS from Neutral to Buy. When considering if perhaps the stock is under or overvalued, the average price target is $188.29, which is 24.55% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:GS) Similar Articles: Market Update: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs cutting up to 10 pct of fixed income trading staff – source Market Update: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) – Goldman Sachs Asset Management Announces Additional Updates to Money Market Fund Product Line in Anticipation of New Regulatory Requirements Market Update: The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) – HazelTree and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Announce Strategic Partnership to Help Investment Managers Manage Cash Holdings