Goldman Sachs shares fall for a third straight session on Friday, CEO Blankfein’s total compensation rises 9% in 2017

A regulatory filing by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) revealed that total compensation for the banks Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd Blankfein, increased 9% in 2017, despite that a sharp drop in the groups trading revenue had almost halved its net income for the same period.

Goldman Sachs shares closed lower for a third consecutive trading session on Friday. The stock went down 2.91% ($7.34) to $245.26, after touching an intraday low at $244.93, or a price level not seen since February 9th ($239.29).

In the week ended on March 25th the shares of the bank holding company lost 8.35% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decrease. It has also been the worst performance since the week ended on January 10th 2016.

The stock has extended its loss to 6.72% so far during the current month, following a 1.85% slump in February. The latter has been the first monthly retreat since August 2017.

For the entire past year, Goldman Sachs shares rose 6.39% compared with a 25.08% return for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI). In 2016, however, Goldman Sachs surged 32.86%, which outstripped gains generated by the underlying index (+13.42%).

Lloyd Blankfein received almost $22 million in total compensation for 2017, which compares with $20.2 million during the preceding year.

Executives of other Wall Street banks also saw their total pay rise in 2017. Michael Corbat, Citigroups CEO, received $23 million in total compensation, or 48% more compared to 2016.

James Gorman, Morgan Stanleys CEO, was paid $27 million last year, or a 20% surge in comparison with 2016.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co, received $29.5 million in total compensation last year, or 5.4% more compared to 2016.

Meanwhile, David Solomon, Goldman Sachss Chief Operating Officer, was paid a total of $16.4 million in 2017.

According to CNN Money, the 27 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Goldman Sachs’s stock price, have a median target of $270.00, with a high estimate of $320.00 and a low estimate of $190.00. The median estimate is a 10.09% surge compared to the closing price of $245.26 on March 23rd.

The same media also reported that 17 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Goldman Sachs’s stock as “Hold”, while 9 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Goldman Sachs stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $246.17
R2 – $247.08
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $247.99
R4 (Long Breakout) – $250.72
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $253.91
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $255.20

S1 – $244.35
S2 – $243.44
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $242.53
S4 (Short Breakout) – $239.80
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $236.61
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $235.32

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $252.57
R1 – $260.19
R2 – $275.13
R3 – $282.75
R4 – $290.38

S1 – $237.63
S2 – $230.01
S3 – $215.07
S4 – $200.14