GSK (NYSE:GSK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on GSK. Berenberg Bank raised shares of GSK to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of GSK from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $47.00.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $38.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. GSK has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $9.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. GSK had a return on equity of 51.54% and a net margin of 14.62%. As a group, research analysts expect that GSK will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.3762 per share. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.26%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in GSK by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in GSK by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 14,231 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 10,986 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.