GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• GSK PLC Sponsored ADR has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from nine brokerages, with one analyst rating it as a sell, seven as holds, and one as a strong buy.
• The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding forecasts and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.1% to $10.06 billion.
• GSK has announced a dividend increase to $0.4216 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 4.44%, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.38.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Hsbc Global Res upgraded GSK to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $35.25 price target for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 6,407 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of GSK by 6.5% during the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 4,659 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co increased its position in GSK by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Bank & Trust Co now owns 22,405 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 7,700 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.74% of the company's stock.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.95. 4,009,306 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,818,628. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.50. GSK has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $44.67.

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. GSK had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 48.82%. The company had revenue of $10.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.4216 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from GSK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. GSK's payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

GSK Company Profile

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.