General Motors (NYSE:GM) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on General Motors from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on General Motors from $37.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on General Motors from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on General Motors from $42.00 to $46.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.25.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of GM stock opened at $33.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.39. General Motors has a 52-week low of $31.10 and a 52-week high of $43.63.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.05. General Motors had a return on equity of 16.70% and a net margin of 6.05%. The firm had revenue of $44.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that General Motors will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 9,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.00, for a total value of $381,300.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 282,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,601,893. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in General Motors by 10.6% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 157,520 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 15,117 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 32.7% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 278,485 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $12,181,000 after acquiring an additional 68,683 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of General Motors by 12.8% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,767 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of General Motors by 13.9% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of General Motors by 5.3% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 103,800 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $4,540,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. 79.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Motors Company Profile

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.