GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GSK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in GSK by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in GSK by 231.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Up 3.5 %

GSK stock opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.30.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 48.59% and a net margin of 8.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.3932 dividend. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is 98.74%.

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.