GMS (NYSE:GMS) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Loop Capital raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $93.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. GMS traded as high as $103.97 and last traded at $103.97, with a volume of 6843 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $101.70.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of GMS from $96.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of GMS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of GMS from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of GMS from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GMS presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of GMS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total value of $510,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,427,834.36. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GMS

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GMS. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 138.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of GMS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $121,000. 95.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GMS Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.57.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 4.45%. GMS’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

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.