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

GMS (NYSE:GMS) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on GMS from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on GMS from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on GMS from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GMS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.63.

GMS Price Performance

Shares of GMS opened at $97.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.40. GMS has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $99.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.24 and its 200-day moving average is $75.78.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. GMS had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 25.65%. GMS’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that GMS will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.57, for a total transaction of $1,931,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,465.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. sold 6,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.58, for a total transaction of $611,436.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,074 shares in the company, valued at $4,691,060.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.57, for a total value of $1,931,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,000,465.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,679 shares of company stock worth $4,187,862. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of GMS

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.3% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 131.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 5.2% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 8.3% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About GMS

GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings 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.