General Motors (NYSE:GM) Earns “Equal Weight” Rating from Barclays

Barclays reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has a $40.00 price target on the auto manufacturer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $70.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GM. Mizuho dropped their price target on General Motors from $63.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Cowen began coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Motors from $64.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on General Motors in a research report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.72.

General Motors Stock Performance

GM stock opened at $44.55 on Tuesday. General Motors has a one year low of $38.96 and a one year high of $61.24. The firm has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.29.

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

General Motors declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. 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 1.08%. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On General Motors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in General Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 9,960.0% during the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

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.