General Motors (NYSE:GM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $53.00. The stock had previously closed at $50.95, but opened at $46.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. General Motors shares last traded at $46.73, with a volume of 11,803,037 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on GM. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of General Motors in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on General Motors in a report on Friday, March 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $73.00 price objective on General Motors in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in General Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in General Motors by 551.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 502 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.53. The company has a market capitalization of $47.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 3.21%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.