UBS Group Reiterates Neutral Rating for General Motors (NYSE:GM)

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at UBS Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $51.00 price objective on the auto manufacturer’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $64.00. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 15.99% from the company’s previous close.

GM has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of General Motors from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday. HSBC downgraded shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of General Motors in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.89.

General Motors Price Performance

GM stock opened at $43.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.54 and a 200-day moving average of $50.40. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.96 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.15, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.27.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.17. General Motors had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, equities analysts expect that General Motors will post 11.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

General Motors announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto manufacturer to purchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other General Motors news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. purchased 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $50.66 per share, for a total transaction of $607,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. The trade was a 700.12 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of General Motors by 298.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 73,068 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 54,745 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc bought a new position in General Motors in the 1st quarter worth $1,543,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in General Motors by 100,483.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 12,070 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 12,058 shares during the period. Ervin Investment Management LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 3.7% in the first quarter. Ervin Investment Management LLC now owns 79,450 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Finally, Sterneck Capital Management LLC increased its stake in General Motors by 151.0% in the first quarter. Sterneck Capital Management LLC now owns 13,424 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 8,075 shares during the period. 92.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.