Short Interest in General Motors (NYSE:GM) Drops By 9.5%

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,650,000 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the October 15th total of 32,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 12,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company's stock are short sold.

General Motors Stock Performance

Shares of General Motors stock traded down $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.12. 14,529,984 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,896,432. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.48. General Motors has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $59.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.88, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

General Motors (NYSE:GM - Get Free Report) TSE: GMM.U last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The auto manufacturer reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $48.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.67 billion. General Motors had a return on equity of 16.30% and a net margin of 6.06%. General Motors's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that General Motors will post 10.35 EPS for the current year.

General Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. General Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GM. StockNews.com cut General Motors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of General Motors from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on General Motors from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on General Motors from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of General Motors from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Mark L. Reuss sold 122,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $6,745,130.28. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 126,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,000,190.12. The trade was a 49.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rory Harvey sold 2,302 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.31, for a total transaction of $108,907.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,356 shares in the company, valued at $489,942.36. The trade was a 18.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 653,511 shares of company stock valued at $35,012,844. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of General Motors by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 792 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of General Motors by 2.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,184 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in General Motors by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 9,592 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in General Motors by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the auto manufacturer's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 92.67% of the stock is currently 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.