Short Interest in Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) Expands By 5.6%

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,800,000 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 6,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Henry Schein Price Performance

NASDAQ HSIC traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,431,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,745. Henry Schein has a twelve month low of $63.67 and a twelve month high of $82.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.40 and its 200 day moving average is $69.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. Henry Schein had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Henry Schein will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HSIC shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Henry Schein in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Baird R W raised shares of Henry Schein from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Henry Schein from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Henry Schein from $92.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.89.

Insider Activity at Henry Schein

In other news, SVP Lorelei Mcglynn sold 21,035 shares of Henry Schein stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.30, for a total transaction of $1,457,725.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,978,026.90. The trade was a 22.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSIC. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Henry Schein during the 1st quarter valued at about $215,998,000. ING Groep NV bought a new position in Henry Schein during the third quarter worth $63,226,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Henry Schein during the third quarter worth $58,319,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in Henry Schein during the second quarter worth $46,683,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Henry Schein during the third quarter worth $43,740,000. 96.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Henry Schein

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.