GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) Short Interest Update

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the December 31st total of 988,600 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 395,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of GMS from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of GMS from $93.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on GMS from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on GMS from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of GMS in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total transaction of $510,650.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 23,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,427,834.36. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GMS

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GMS. FMR LLC lifted its stake in GMS by 25.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,232,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,308,000 after purchasing an additional 854,987 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in GMS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,277,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in GMS by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 594,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in GMS by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 541,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,937,000 after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in GMS by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 340,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,829,000 after purchasing an additional 110,876 shares in the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GMS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GMS traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.15. The company had a trading volume of 274,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,369. GMS has a 12-month low of $77.29 and a 12-month high of $105.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.66. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that GMS will post 7.26 EPS 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.