Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for General Motors (NYSE:GM) Stock Price

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) had its target price increased by Barclays from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GM. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of General Motors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, General Motors presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.22.

General Motors Price Performance

GM opened at $45.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.70 and a 200-day moving average of $50.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.96 and a 12-month high of $61.24.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.15. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. The firm had revenue of $44.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from General Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.65%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in General Motors by 3.2% during the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,718 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC grew its stake in General Motors by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 7,167 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in General Motors by 31.3% in the first quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,469 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of General Motors by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,413 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in General Motors by 180.9% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 29,234 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 18,826 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.