Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,302 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of GMS worth $19,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in GMS during the first quarter worth about $68,693,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in GMS by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,830,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,583,000 after buying an additional 406,406 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in GMS by 103.0% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 690,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,687,000 after buying an additional 350,478 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of GMS in the second quarter worth $24,601,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of GMS during the first quarter worth $8,761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.28% of the company’s stock.

GMS Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE GMS opened at $99.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 1.68. GMS Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.28 and a 52-week high of $103.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

GMS (NYSE:GMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by ($0.21). GMS had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that GMS Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on GMS from $96.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of GMS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of GMS from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on GMS from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.13, for a total transaction of $510,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,427,834.36. This 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 is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

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.