Garrett Motion (NYSE:GTX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Garrett Motion Inc. (NYSE:GTX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.55 and last traded at $18.5980, with a volume of 1319378 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Garrett Motion from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Garrett Motion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Garrett Motion in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. BWS Financial increased their price target on Garrett Motion from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Garrett Motion in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Garrett Motion currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.80.

Garrett Motion Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.39.

Garrett Motion (NYSE:GTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. Garrett Motion had a negative return on equity of 38.75% and a net margin of 8.12%.During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Garrett Motion Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Garrett Motion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Garrett Motion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Garrett Motion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.38%.

Garrett Motion declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 3rd that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTX. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Garrett Motion by 279.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 168,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 123,736 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Garrett Motion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $500,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Garrett Motion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Garrett Motion by 45.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,705,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,229,000 after buying an additional 529,949 shares during the period. Finally, Cambria Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Garrett Motion by 1,502.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 739,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,073,000 after acquiring an additional 693,445 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.27% of the company’s stock.

Garrett Motion Company Profile

Garrett Motion Inc is a technology leader specializing in the design, development and manufacture of turbocharging systems and related technologies for the global automotive industry. Its product portfolio includes conventional exhaust gas turbochargers, variable-geometry turbochargers, electric and e-boost turbochargers, as well as electronic actuators, sensors and thermal management systems. The company’s solutions are engineered to improve engine efficiency, reduce emissions and support automakers’ efforts to meet evolving regulatory standards for fuel economy and air quality.

Garrett Motion traces its roots to the founding of AiResearch by Cliff Garrett in 1936, a pioneer in aircraft and automotive turbocharging technologies.