Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) Short Interest Update

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,970,000 shares, a decrease of 14.3% from the February 28th total of 5,800,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Henry Schein Stock Performance

NASDAQ HSIC traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.13. The company had a trading volume of 140,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,567,071. Henry Schein has a fifty-two week low of $63.67 and a fifty-two week high of $82.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.67.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.04). Henry Schein had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. Henry Schein’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Henry Schein will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Henry Schein news, Director Philip A. Laskawy sold 2,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.04, for a total value of $184,988.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,762,147.20. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bradford C. Connett sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.15, for a total transaction of $287,161.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,688 shares in the company, valued at $4,460,251.20. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Henry Schein

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Henry Schein by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 11,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Henry Schein by 272.9% in the 3rd quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in shares of Henry Schein in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. 96.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HSIC shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Henry Schein in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Henry Schein from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded Henry Schein from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Henry Schein from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Henry Schein in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Henry Schein presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.10.

Henry Schein Company Profile

Henry Schein, Inc provides health care products and services to dental practitioners, laboratories, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers, government, institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care clinics worldwide. It operates through two segments, Health Care Distribution, and Technology and Value-Added Services.