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

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

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GMS. Stephens boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on GMS from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of GMS from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GMS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.63.

GMS Stock Performance

GMS stock opened at $95.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.53. GMS has a 52-week low of $55.88 and a 52-week high of $101.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

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

Insider Transactions at GMS

In related news, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other GMS news, COO George T. Hendren sold 10,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.49, for a total transaction of $1,018,355.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,261 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,453.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Craig D. Apolinsky sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,000,465.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,820 shares of company stock worth $3,561,192 in the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GMS. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in GMS by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $843,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of GMS by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in GMS by 131.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in GMS by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 16,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

GMS Company Profile

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.