General Motors Gets Positive Reaction To Financial Objective Hints

on Tuesday said in a

that it has received notice from Harry J. Wilson that he intends to nominate himself as a candidate to stand for election to the company's Board of Directors. Wilson's notice indicated that he is acting on behalf of himself and four investment funds who jointly own 34.4 million shares, or approximately 2.1 percent of the company's stock. Wilson plans on bringing before the 2015 annual meeting a proposal that the company commit to completing $8 billion of share repurchases on or before the first anniversary of the 2015 annual meeting. Traders and investors appear to have reacted favorably to a comment within the news post that said "the company is on track with its financial objectives for 2016 and beyond." Rod Lache of Deutsche Bank commented following General Motors' announcement that Wilson is a "well regarded" restructuring expert who served as a "point-man" for the Obama Administration's Auto Task Force. Lache noted that the $8 billion buyback Wilson is pushing for corresponds with the positions of the VEBA and the Canadian government but it is unclear how much investor support he will receive, but it can be considered a positive that the company will face pressure to continue returning cash to shareholders. However, Lache believes the company's Board of Directors will resist returning cash to shareholders of such magnitude given an unlikely yet still possible global production disruption that could result in the unwind of $13 billion of working capital. The company is also entering a period of uncertainty related to cash uses for Department of Justice fines along with litigation and labor negations. Shares are Hold rated with a $35 price target.