General Motors (NYSE:GM) Short Interest Up 6.8% in October

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,760,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the September 30th total of 30,670,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 13,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

General Motors Trading Up 0.4 %

GM traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.96. 5,421,817 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,007,226. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.26 and a 200 day moving average of $46.40. General Motors has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $54.29.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $48.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.67 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. General Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 10.34 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.33, for a total transaction of $27,028,923.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 694,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,040,244.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,942.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 531,228 shares of company stock worth $28,267,714. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GM. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in General Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the third quarter worth $27,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in General Motors in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in General Motors by 56.1% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in General Motors during the first quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Motors from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nomura lowered shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.92.

General Motors Company Profile

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.