General Motors (NYSE:GM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM – Get Rating) (TSE:GMM.U) in a research report report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the auto manufacturer’s stock.

GM has been the topic of several other reports. Berenberg Bank cut General Motors from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $41.00 in a report on Monday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on General Motors from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of General Motors from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. They set an equal weight rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $50.06.

General Motors Trading Down 3.6 %

GM stock opened at $33.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. General Motors has a 12-month low of $30.33 and a 12-month high of $46.74. The stock has a market cap of $46.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.45, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.74 and its 200 day moving average is $37.71.

General Motors (NYSE:GM – Get Rating) (TSE:GMM.U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The auto manufacturer reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.44. General Motors had a return on equity of 16.08% and a net margin of 6.34%. The company had revenue of $43.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. General Motors’s revenue was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that General Motors will post 6.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 2nd. General Motors’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Motors

In other news, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 15,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.65, for a total value of $671,438.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,037,063.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other General Motors news, EVP Stephen K. Carlisle sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $755,460.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,937,754.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gerald Johnson sold 15,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.65, for a total transaction of $671,438.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 71,209 shares in the company, valued at $3,037,063.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of General Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $493,248,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,763,488 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $496,644,000 after buying an additional 7,115,861 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 198.7% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,456,923 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $300,352,000 after buying an additional 6,290,657 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 191.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 6,897,000 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $219,049,000 after buying an additional 4,528,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of General Motors by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 111,810,845 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,588,010,000 after buying an additional 4,251,190 shares in the last quarter. 78.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About General Motors

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General Motors Co engages in the designing, manufacturing, and selling of trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts and in providing software-enabled services and subscriptions. It operates through the following segments: GMNA, GMI, Cruise, and GM Financial. The company was founded by William C.