General Motors (NYSE:GM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $55.96.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of General Motors from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on General Motors from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on General Motors from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on General Motors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of General Motors from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GM opened at $49.01 on Wednesday. General Motors has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $49.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.23. The company has a market cap of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.43.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.60. General Motors had a return on equity of 14.40% and a net margin of 6.13%. The firm had revenue of $43.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 9.43 EPS for the current year.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto manufacturer to repurchase up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $6,516,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 176,907 shares in the company, valued at $7,684,840.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total transaction of $6,516,000.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 176,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,684,840.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Mark L. Reuss sold 14,858 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.01, for a total value of $683,616.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 162,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,455,874.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,152,621 shares of company stock worth $51,818,111 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $602,280,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in General Motors by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 48,767,573 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,211,609,000 after buying an additional 6,201,777 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in General Motors during the 1st quarter worth about $159,750,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in General Motors by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 18,097,486 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $650,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 20,237,820 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $726,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,905,689 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.