Short Interest in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) Declines By 42.3%

Key Points

• GMS Inc. experienced a significant decline in short interest of 42.3% in August, reducing the total short interest to 525,100 shares.
• The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the latest quarter, slightly missing analyst expectations of $1.77 while generating revenue of $1.41 billion.
• Institutional investors now own approximately 95.28% of GMS's stock, indicating strong support from large investors as shares change hands.

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 525,100 shares, a decrease of 42.3% from the July 31st total of 910,100 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GMS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Baird R W cut GMS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on GMS from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Loop Capital increased their target price on GMS from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $93.00) on shares of GMS in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.11.

GMS Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE GMS traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $109.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 710,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,710. GMS has a 52-week low of $65.77 and a 52-week high of $110.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $109.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.29 and a beta of 1.76.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 4th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.01). GMS had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 1.86%.The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that GMS will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at GMS

In other GMS 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 value of $541,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 23,950 shares in the company, valued at $2,592,108.50. This represents a 17.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Coliseum Capital Management, L sold 179,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.05, for a total value of $19,713,586.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,646,018 shares in the company, valued at $401,244,280.90. This represents a 4.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 343,627 shares of company stock worth $37,808,097 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GMS. Coliseum Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in GMS by 81.9% in the 1st quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 3,437,488 shares of the company's stock worth $251,521,000 after buying an additional 1,547,999 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P purchased a new stake in GMS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,638,000. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in GMS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,375,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new stake in GMS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,023,000. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in GMS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,925,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.28% of the company's stock.

GMS Company 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.