Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 15.4% to 249,916 shares as of March 13, representing 1.9% of the float and a days-to-cover ratio of about 2.0.
• Dividend increased to $0.28 quarterly (annualized $1.12) for a 3.6% yield, with a payout ratio around 60%.
• Despite beating Q4 estimates (EPS $0.38 vs. $0.35; revenue $345.6M vs. $324.9M), the stock carries a consensus Hold rating and a market cap near $1.18 billion.

Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 249,916 shares, a decrease of 15.4% from the February 26th total of 295,267 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 124,775 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Global Industrial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 61,392 shares of the company's stock worth $1,732,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Global Industrial by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 9,410 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its holdings in shares of Global Industrial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 79,424 shares of the company's stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Global Industrial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Global Industrial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 37,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 31.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GIC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Global Industrial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Global Industrial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Global Industrial from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Global Industrial Price Performance

Shares of GIC opened at $30.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.89. Global Industrial has a one year low of $20.79 and a one year high of $38.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $31.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.43.

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $345.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.86 million. Global Industrial had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.56%. Analysts anticipate that Global Industrial will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Industrial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Global Industrial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Global Industrial's payout ratio is 60.22%.

Global Industrial Company Profile

Global Industrial Company NYSE: GIC is a leading business-to-business distributor of industrial products and equipment. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the company provides a comprehensive range of products to support manufacturing, warehousing, and facility maintenance operations across North America. Through a digital-first platform, Global Industrial combines e-commerce, direct sales and catalog-based ordering channels to serve a diverse commercial customer base.

The company's product portfolio encompasses material handling solutions (including conveyors, pallet racks and hoists), storage and shelving systems, janitorial and sanitation supplies, packaging and shipping materials, and office furniture.

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