StockNews.com Downgrades GMS (NYSE:GMS) to Buy

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of GMS from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of GMS from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of GMS from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GMS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.63.

GMS Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GMS opened at $100.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.15 and its 200 day moving average is $77.18. GMS has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $100.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 25.65% and a net margin of 5.48%. GMS’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that GMS will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.57, for a total transaction of $1,931,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,465.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other GMS news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,465.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 4,455 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.54, for a total transaction of $354,350.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,034.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,679 shares of company stock valued at $4,187,862 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of GMS during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,532,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,250,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,068,000 after purchasing an additional 456,692 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 3,313.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 462,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 448,643 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 392.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 436,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,422,000 after purchasing an additional 347,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 523,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,091,000 after purchasing an additional 209,513 shares during the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.