General Motors (NYSE:GM) Short Interest Up 70.0% in February

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 42,800,000 shares, a growth of 70.0% from the February 13th total of 25,180,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 11,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GM has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, General Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.89.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. acquired 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GM. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,164 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $474,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 463,848 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $25,178,000 after purchasing an additional 39,474 shares during the last quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $1,044,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of General Motors by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 202,054 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $10,763,000 after purchasing an additional 19,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of GM opened at $48.34 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.23 and its 200 day moving average is $50.46. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.96 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

About General Motors

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts; and provide software-enabled services and subscriptions worldwide. The company operates through GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments. It markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling brand names.