General Motors (NYSE:GM) Upgraded to Buy at 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 Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on GM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on General Motors from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on General Motors from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on General Motors from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on General Motors from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on General Motors in a report on Thursday. They set an outperform rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $54.65.

General Motors Stock Up 0.5 %

GM opened at $45.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.51. General Motors has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $46.17.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $43.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.09 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $540,315. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 27,122 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.26, for a total value of $1,227,541.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,236,361.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher Hatto sold 3,500 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,315. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,248 shares of company stock valued at $3,614,078 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GM. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in General Motors by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 475,061 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $17,064,000 after acquiring an additional 74,194 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in General Motors by 361.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 119,714 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,300,000 after acquiring an additional 93,754 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in General Motors by 15.0% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 394,047 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $12,992,000 after acquiring an additional 51,336 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in General Motors by 10.5% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 147,383 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 14,002 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd grew its position in General Motors by 195.0% during the fourth quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 41,300 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after acquiring an additional 27,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

About General Motors

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.