GSK (NYSE:GSK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

GSK has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $36.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 50.62%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GSK will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in GSK by 73.8% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in GSK by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of GSK by 231.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About GSK

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.