Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on GIC. Freedom Broker started coverage on Global Industrial in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Global Industrial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Global Industrial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Global Industrial Price Performance

GIC opened at $43.82 on Friday. Global Industrial has a 12 month low of $26.40 and a 12 month high of $44.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.58.

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.54. Global Industrial had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 6.06%. The firm had revenue of $386.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.40 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Global Industrial will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Global Industrial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Global Industrial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at Global Industrial

In related news, SVP Claudia Hughes sold 4,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total transaction of $189,074.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,279,603.26. The trade was a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Axmacher sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.10, for a total value of $37,223.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 6,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,787.40. This trade represents a 12.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,287 shares of company stock worth $363,904. 64.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Industrial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Global Industrial in the second quarter worth about $53,365,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Global Industrial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 893,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,155,000 after acquiring an additional 8,901 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Global Industrial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,510,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Industrial by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 199,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,275,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Industrial by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 141,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 6,530 shares in the last quarter. 31.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Industrial

Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC) is a distributor of industrial and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products. The company serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations through digital commerce, direct sales and product catalogs.

Its product range includes material-handling and storage equipment, shelving, cabinets, workstations, safety supplies, janitorial and facility-maintenance products, packaging supplies, tools, HVAC equipment and office furnishings. Global Industrial offers products from its own brands as well as third-party manufacturers, with solutions designed for workplaces, warehouses, commercial facilities and industrial operations.

The company primarily serves customers in the United States and Canada.