General Motors (NYSE:GM) Earns Peer Perform Rating from Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GM. Nomura cut General Motors from a neutral rating to a reduce rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of General Motors from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of General Motors in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Nomura Securities raised shares of General Motors to a strong sell rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $55.17.

General Motors Price Performance

General Motors stock opened at $47.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.18. General Motors has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $50.50.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The auto manufacturer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $47.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.13 billion. General Motors had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that General Motors will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

General Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 11th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto manufacturer to reacquire up to 10.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $417,307.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Paul A. Jacobson purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.11 per share, with a total value of $1,102,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 261,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,551,173.92. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 12,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $627,210.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,513 shares in the company, valued at $417,307.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 376,544 shares of company stock worth $18,134,919. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GM. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in General Motors during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in General Motors during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 626 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 832 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 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.