Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $77.64, but opened at $80.56. Henry Schein shares last traded at $75.78, with a volume of 1,004,639 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSIC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Henry Schein from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Henry Schein from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America upgraded Henry Schein from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Henry Schein from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Henry Schein in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.09.

Henry Schein Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.38.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Henry Schein

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSIC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Henry Schein by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Henry Schein by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 6,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 17,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Henry Schein by 3.8% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Henry Schein by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 96.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.