GMS (NYSE:GMS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $102.29, but opened at $100.00. GMS shares last traded at $98.99, with a volume of 161,849 shares trading hands.

The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.24). GMS had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GMS. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of GMS from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of GMS from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of GMS from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of GMS in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of GMS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GMS presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total transaction of $510,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GMS

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in GMS by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 20,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GMS by 86.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 95.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GMS Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

About GMS

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.