GMS (NYSE:GMS) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $105.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. 1,739,981 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 312% from the previous session’s volume of 421,893 shares.The stock last traded at $104.37 and had previously closed at $81.01.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on GMS. DA Davidson cut their price objective on GMS from $94.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on GMS from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on GMS from $71.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens upped their price objective on GMS from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $93.00 price objective on GMS in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GMS presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total value of $916,340.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,314,504.22. This represents a 28.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. acquired 3,650 shares of GMS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.00 per share, with a total value of $255,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 66,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,684,960. This represents a 5.77% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of GMS by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,868,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636,612 shares in the last quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of GMS by 81.9% during the 1st quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 3,437,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,999 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of GMS by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,154,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,609,000 after purchasing an additional 31,230 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of GMS by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,660,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,476,000 after purchasing an additional 189,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of GMS by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 933,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,287,000 after purchasing an additional 212,128 shares in the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GMS Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82 and a beta of 1.62.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 18th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.18. GMS had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 2.09%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About GMS

GMS Inc distributes wallboard, ceilings, steel framing and complementary construction products in the United States and Canada. The company offers ceilings products, including suspended mineral fibers, soft fibers, and metal ceiling systems primarily used in offices, hotels, hospitals, retail facilities, schools, and various other commercial and institutional buildings.