GMS (NYSE:GMS) Earns Strong-Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of GMS (NYSE:GMS – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GMS. Barclays lifted their target price on GMS from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on GMS from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on GMS from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on GMS from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded GMS from a buy rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the company from $52.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $62.00.

GMS Stock Down 1.7 %

GMS opened at $52.84 on Thursday. GMS has a fifty-two week low of $36.10 and a fifty-two week high of $62.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.41 and a 200-day moving average of $50.62.

GMS (NYSE:GMS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.01). GMS had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that GMS will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In other GMS news, Director John J. Gavin sold 9,816 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.52, for a total value of $594,064.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,513 shares in the company, valued at $938,846.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other GMS news, Director John J. Gavin sold 9,816 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.52, for a total value of $594,064.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,513 shares in the company, valued at $938,846.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. sold 1,526 shares of GMS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total value of $90,797.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,755,045. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,218 shares of company stock worth $736,983 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of GMS during the first quarter worth about $1,434,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 66.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 10.7% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of GMS by 57.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 23,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 8,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.34% of the company’s stock.

About GMS

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GMS, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the distribution of wallboard and suspended ceilings systems and complementary interior construction products. It operates through the following segments: Geographic Divisions, Other, and Corporate. The firm offers ceiling 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.