Short Interest in GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) Grows By 31.5%

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the December 15th total of 988,600 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 395,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

GMS Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE GMS traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.26. 337,353 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,929. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.23. GMS has a fifty-two week low of $77.29 and a fifty-two week high of $105.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 1.73.

GMS (NYSE:GMS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.26 by ($0.24). GMS had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that GMS will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at GMS

In related news, COO George T. Hendren sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 23,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,427,834.36. This trade represents a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GMS. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in GMS by 148.8% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 9,876 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of GMS by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 101,541 shares of the company's stock worth $9,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,136 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of GMS by 374.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,580 shares of the company's stock worth $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 55,690 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in GMS by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 151,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,215,000 after purchasing an additional 28,137 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in GMS by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GMS shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of GMS from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on GMS from $93.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital raised their price target on GMS from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $86.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of GMS in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of GMS from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.57.

GMS Company Profile

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.