Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Holdings in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,069 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in GMS were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GMS. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GMS by 131.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GMS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $155,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GMS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GMS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in shares of GMS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. 95.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GMS Stock Performance

NYSE GMS opened at $92.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.16. GMS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.99 and a 12-month high of $101.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.73.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. GMS had a return on equity of 25.65% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that GMS Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GMS. Stephens upped their price objective on GMS from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on GMS from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on GMS from $75.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised GMS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on GMS from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at GMS

In other GMS news, COO George T. Hendren sold 10,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.49, for a total transaction of $1,018,355.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,453.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other GMS news, COO George T. Hendren sold 10,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.49, for a total transaction of $1,018,355.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 23,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,244,453.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John C. Turner, Jr. sold 6,266 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.58, for a total value of $611,436.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,074 shares in the company, valued at $4,691,060.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,820 shares of company stock worth $3,561,192. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.