GSK (NYSE:GSK) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• GSK's stock reached a new 52-week high of $46.87, closing at $45.47 with a trading volume of 7.5 million shares.
• The company reported earnings of $1.23 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and generating revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, a 1.3% increase year-over-year.
• GSK's recent dividend was cut, yielding 3.7% with an annualized payout of $1.68, raising concerns about financial stability.

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.87 and last traded at $45.47, with a volume of 7495994 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded GSK from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $37.38.

GSK Stock Up 2.7%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $92.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.53.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.11. GSK had a return on equity of 49.22% and a net margin of 10.81%.The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. GSK's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. GSK has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.590-4.590 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that GSK PLC Sponsored ADR will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4206 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. GSK's dividend payout ratio is 78.24%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the third quarter valued at $401,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in GSK by 151.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 2,722 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in GSK by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in GSK by 444.0% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 952 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in GSK by 9.1% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 174,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 14,505 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.

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