Jefferies Financial Group Increases GSK (NYSE:GSK) Price Target to $53.00

GSK (NYSE:GSK) had its price objective raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $52.50 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

GSK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Guggenheim raised shares of GSK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

Shares of GSK opened at $38.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1-year low of $33.67 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.3762 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 53.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in GSK by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 3,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in GSK by 305.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 118,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,383,000 after buying an additional 89,089 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the fourth quarter worth about $1,129,000. Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in GSK by 5.3% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 453,795 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,454,000 after buying an additional 23,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in GSK by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,777,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $65,883,000 after buying an additional 18,585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.