Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Position in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) by 34.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,918 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in GMS were worth $3,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GMS. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in GMS by 71.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of GMS by 374.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 55,690 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of GMS by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in GMS during the third quarter worth $1,437,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in GMS during the third quarter valued at $12,490,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

GMS Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE GMS opened at $86.80 on Thursday. GMS Inc. has a one year low of $77.01 and a one year high of $105.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.75. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 1.68.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 3.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that GMS Inc. will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GMS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of GMS from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on GMS from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on GMS from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com lowered GMS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of GMS from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GMS has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total value of $510,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,427,834.36. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.