Short Interest in General Motors (NYSE:GM) Rises By 7.6%

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,710,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the November 30th total of 34,130,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 8,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $535,229.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $510,865.13. This represents a 51.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mary T. Barra sold 506,824 shares of General Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.33, for a total transaction of $27,028,923.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 694,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,040,244.84. This trade represents a 42.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,030,475 shares of company stock worth $56,509,286 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in General Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of General Motors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in General Motors during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:GM traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.27. 4,733,422 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,509,685. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.28. General Motors has a 12 month low of $34.32 and a 12 month high of $61.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $48.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.67 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.06% and a return on equity of 16.30%. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Analysts predict that General Motors will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on General Motors from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of General Motors from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $49.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.70.

General Motors Company Profile

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.