General Motors (NYSE:GM) Upgraded by BNP Paribas to "Strong-Buy" Rating

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - Free Report) TSE: GMM.U to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of General Motors from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on General Motors from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $43.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on General Motors from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of General Motors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.28.

General Motors Trading Up 0.3 %

GM stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $47.51. 8,581,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,425,363. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day moving average of $50.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. General Motors has a 1 year low of $38.96 and a 1 year high of $61.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.36.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The auto manufacturer reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.15. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The firm had revenue of $44.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from General Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. General Motors's payout ratio is currently 8.65%.

General Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 2.3% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,380,940 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $206,036,000 after buying an additional 96,490 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Motors by 25.2% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,457 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of General Motors during the first quarter valued at $5,757,000. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC increased its holdings in General Motors by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in General Motors by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,341,336 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $4,672,023,000 after acquiring an additional 6,395,375 shares during the period. 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.