GMS (NYSE:GMS) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

GMS (NYSE:GMS – Get Rating) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on GMS. Barclays raised their price target on GMS from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on GMS from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

GMS Stock Performance

NYSE:GMS opened at $64.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.81. GMS has a 1 year low of $36.10 and a 1 year high of $65.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.84.

GMS (NYSE:GMS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.01). GMS had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that GMS will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at GMS

In related news, Director John J. Gavin sold 9,816 shares of GMS stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.52, for a total transaction of $594,064.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,846.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director John J. Gavin sold 9,816 shares of GMS stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.52, for a total transaction of $594,064.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,846.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. sold 876 shares of GMS stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total value of $52,122.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,060,280. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,018 shares of company stock valued at $784,983. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in GMS during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 21.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 613,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,489,000 after buying an additional 110,185 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 0.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,596,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,429,000 after buying an additional 7,235 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of GMS in the first quarter worth about $516,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 5.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 79,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,628,000 after buying an additional 4,294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.34% of the company’s stock.

GMS Company Profile

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GMS, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the distribution of wallboard and suspended ceilings systems and complementary interior construction products. It operates through the following segments: Geographic Divisions, Other, and Corporate. The firm offers ceiling products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings.