General Motors (NYSE:GM) Short Interest Update

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 42,800,000 shares, an increase of 70.0% from the February 13th total of 25,180,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Transactions at General Motors

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $694,751.24. This represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of General Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GM. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in General Motors during the third quarter worth $27,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in General Motors during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of General Motors by 9,960.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 503 shares of the auto manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.67% of the company’s stock.

General Motors Stock Performance

General Motors stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.34. The stock had a trading volume of 14,143,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,806,085. General Motors has a fifty-two week low of $38.96 and a fifty-two week high of $61.24. The company has a market cap of $48.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

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

General Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GM. Mizuho raised their price objective on General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Hsbc Global Res lowered General Motors from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on General Motors in a research note on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised General Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.89.

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.