Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 31,230 Shares of GMS Inc. $GMS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has increased its stake in GMS Inc. by 1.5%, now owning over 2.15 million shares valued at approximately $157.6 million.
• GMS recently attracted interest from several institutional investors, with 95.28% of its stock currently held by institutional entities and hedge funds.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for GMS, with recent upgrades raising the average target to $101.11, while maintaining a mostly "Hold" rating.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,154,021 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,230 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.61% of GMS worth $157,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eukles Asset Management purchased a new position in GMS during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in GMS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in GMS by 170.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 706 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of GMS by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of GMS during the 1st quarter worth $252,000. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GMS. Barclays raised their target price on GMS from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded GMS from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on GMS from $95.20 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Baird R W downgraded GMS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded GMS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, GMS presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.11.

Insider Transactions at GMS

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.23, for a total transaction of $541,150.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 23,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,592,108.50. This represents a 17.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Coliseum Capital Management, L sold 179,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.05, for a total value of $19,713,586.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,646,018 shares in the company, valued at $401,244,280.90. This represents a 4.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 343,627 shares of company stock valued at $37,808,097. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

GMS Stock Performance

Shares of GMS stock traded down $0.0550 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $109.8450. The stock had a trading volume of 372,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,629. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $105.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. GMS Inc. has a one year low of $65.77 and a one year high of $110.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01 and a beta of 1.76.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 18th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.18. GMS had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 2.09%.The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. GMS's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 EPS 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.