Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $252,000 Investment in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new stake in GMS Inc., purchasing 3,449 shares valued at approximately $252,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Coliseum Capital Management, have increased their holdings in GMS, highlighting a strong interest from institutional investors, with 95.28% of the stock now owned by them.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on GMS shares, with target prices ranging from $95.00 to $110.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold" according to MarketBeat.com.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GMS. Coliseum Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GMS by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 1,889,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,285,000 after buying an additional 1,085,551 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in GMS by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 636,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,553,000 after acquiring an additional 94,716 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in GMS by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 596,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,596,000 after purchasing an additional 19,833 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 580,130 shares of the company's stock worth $49,212,000 after acquiring an additional 70,927 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of GMS by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,048 shares of the company's stock worth $16,394,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up from $93.00) on shares of GMS in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on GMS from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered GMS from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on GMS from $95.20 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on GMS from $95.20 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.11.

GMS Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:GMS traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $109.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 823,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,148. The firm has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 1.76. The business's 50-day moving average price is $99.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.23. GMS Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.77 and a 1-year high of $110.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.91.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 2.09%. The business's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

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

GMS Profile

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.