General Motors (NYSE:GM) to Repurchase $6.00 billion in Stock

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto manufacturer to buy up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GM shares. HSBC cut shares of General Motors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of General Motors from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of General Motors in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of General Motors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

General Motors Price Performance

Shares of General Motors stock opened at $49.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.40. General Motors has a 12-month low of $38.94 and a 12-month high of $61.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.35.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) (TSE:GMM.U) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The auto manufacturer reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 year.

General Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. General Motors’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Alfred F. Kelly, Jr. bought 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $50.66 per share, with a total value of $607,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,751.24. This trade represents a 700.12 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.