GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the February 28th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 475,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of GMS in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on GMS from $80.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on GMS from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on GMS from $110.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on GMS from $97.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Theron I. Gilliam sold 12,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total value of $916,340.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,314,504.22. This represents a 28.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GMS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GMS. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of GMS by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GMS by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in GMS by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 37,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,182,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in GMS by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in GMS by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

GMS Price Performance

Shares of GMS stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.29. 279,548 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.23. GMS has a 1-year low of $65.88 and a 1-year high of $105.54. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.20.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.47). GMS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.92%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that GMS will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current 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.