General Motors (NYSE:GM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.27.

GM has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of General Motors in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Nomura cut shares of General Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company.

General Motors Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GM opened at $48.88 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $55.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,551,173.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GM. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 14.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $2,211,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of General Motors during the first quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of General Motors by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in shares of General Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of General Motors by 1,213.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 2,203,771 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $79,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035,925 shares during the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.