GSK (NYSE:GSK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

GSK has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $36.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in GSK in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its stake in GSK by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in GSK by 231.8% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GSK

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.