GMS (NYSE:GMS) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of GMS (NYSE:GMS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GMS. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of GMS from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial raised their target price on GMS from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on GMS from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.63.

GMS Trading Up 0.6 %

GMS opened at $95.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $93.86 and its 200-day moving average is $81.85. GMS has a 1-year low of $55.88 and a 1-year high of $101.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,465.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,465.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO George T. Hendren sold 10,554 shares of GMS stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.49, for a total transaction of $1,018,355.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,453.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,820 shares of company stock worth $3,561,192. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GMS

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in GMS in the 1st quarter valued at about $626,000. FORA Capital LLC raised its stake in GMS by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 9,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in GMS by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,786 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in GMS by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,195,000 after acquiring an additional 26,518 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in GMS in the 1st quarter valued at about $820,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

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.