GMS (NYSE:GMS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $110.28 and last traded at $110.11, with a volume of 342382 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GMS shares. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of GMS from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Baird R W lowered shares of GMS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Stephens lowered shares of GMS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of GMS from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of GMS from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GMS currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.11.

GMS Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.92.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 18th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.18. GMS had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at GMS

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.23, for a total transaction of $541,150.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 23,950 shares in the company, valued at $2,592,108.50. This trade represents a 17.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 51.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 224,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,799 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GMS during the first quarter worth $442,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 15,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 38.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 801 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 95.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GMS

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.