Short Interest in Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) Declines By 14.3%

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of 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. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSIC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Henry Schein from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Henry Schein in a research report on Friday, February 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised Henry Schein from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Henry Schein in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Henry Schein has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.10.

Henry Schein Price Performance

Shares of HSIC stock opened at $67.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.31 and its 200 day moving average is $72.65. Henry Schein has a 1-year low of $63.67 and a 1-year high of $82.49.

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

Insider Activity at Henry Schein

In other Henry Schein news, CEO Bradford C. Connett sold 4,036 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,688 shares in the company, valued at $4,460,251.20. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip A. Laskawy sold 2,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.04, for a total transaction of $184,988.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,762,147.20. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSIC. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Henry Schein by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 109,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,543,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 350,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,256,000 after purchasing an additional 18,882 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Henry Schein in the 4th quarter valued at $417,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Henry Schein by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Henry Schein by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 3,650 shares during the period. 96.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.