GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GSK. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. PrairieView Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in GSK during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GSK opened at $40.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.61. The company has a market capitalization of $84.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.66. GSK has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. On average, analysts forecast that GSK will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.3843 dividend. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. GSK’s payout ratio is 54.71%.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.