GMS (NYSE:GMS) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $71.00 to $95.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. 1,739,981 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 312% from the previous session's volume of 421,893 shares.The stock last traded at $104.37 and had previously closed at $81.01.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GMS. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $95.20 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of GMS in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of GMS in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $93.00 price objective on shares of GMS in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on GMS from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on GMS from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In other news, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. bought 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 66,928 shares in the company, valued at $4,684,960. This represents a 5.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $916,340.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,314,504.22. This represents a 28.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of GMS by 246.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 991 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in GMS by 1,710.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 344 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in GMS by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,143 shares of the company's stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in GMS by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 49,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,176,000 after buying an additional 10,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of GMS by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 609,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,722,000 after buying an additional 15,664 shares during the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GMS Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21 and a beta of 1.62.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 18th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. GMS had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 15.29%. GMS's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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