Short Interest in Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) Drops By 36.3%

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 154,800 shares, a decrease of 36.3% from the February 28th total of 242,900 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 115,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Industrial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Global Industrial by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 120,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,104,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Global Industrial by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Global Industrial by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Global Industrial by 340.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Global Industrial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 41,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.19% of the company’s stock.

Global Industrial Stock Performance

GIC traded down $0.74 on Friday, hitting $22.51. 78,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,327. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.85 and its 200-day moving average is $27.24. Global Industrial has a 12 month low of $22.09 and a 12 month high of $45.69. The company has a market cap of $862.53 million, a PE ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.85.

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $302.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.07 million. Global Industrial had a return on equity of 24.53% and a net margin of 4.92%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Global Industrial will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Industrial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Global Industrial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Global Industrial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.24%.

Global Industrial Company Profile

Global Industrial Company operates as an industrial distributor of various industrial and maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) products in North America. It offers storage and shelving, safety and security, carts and trucks, HVAC and fans, furniture and decor, material handling, janitorial and facility maintenance, workbenches and shop desks, tools and instruments, plumbing and pumps, office and school supplies, packaging and shipping, lighting and electrical, foodservice and retail, medical and laboratory, motors and power transmission, building supplies, machining, fasteners and hardware, vehicle maintenance, and raw materials.