Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for GMS (NYSE:GMS) Stock

GMS (NYSE:GMS) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $80.00 to $93.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential downside of 4.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GMS. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of GMS from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered GMS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on GMS from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on GMS from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of GMS in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GMS presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.25.

GMS Stock Performance

NYSE:GMS opened at $97.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.68. GMS has a 1-year low of $68.13 and a 1-year high of $105.54.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.24). GMS had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. GMS’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that GMS will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In other GMS news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,427,834.36. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GMS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in GMS by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of GMS by 37.1% during the second 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 lifted its holdings in GMS by 138.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in GMS by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in GMS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $121,000. 95.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.