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

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

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

Global Industrial Price Performance

Shares of Global Industrial stock opened at $44.49 on Friday. Global Industrial has a fifty-two week low of $26.40 and a fifty-two week high of $45.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.76. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.54. The company had revenue of $386.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.40 million. Analysts expect that Global Industrial will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Industrial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Global Industrial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Claudia Hughes sold 4,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.78, for a total transaction of $189,074.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,279,603.26. This trade represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Axmacher sold 1,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total transaction of $71,332.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $284,327.60. The trade was a 20.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,287 shares of company stock valued at $363,904. Corporate insiders own 64.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Global Industrial Company Profile

Global Industrial Company (NYSE:GIC) is a distributor of industrial, commercial and business products serving organizations across North America. The company sells products through its e-commerce platforms, catalogs and sales representatives, serving businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and other commercial customers.

Its product offerings include material-handling and storage equipment, shelving, cabinets, workbenches, safety supplies, janitorial and sanitation products, packaging materials, tools, lighting, HVAC equipment, office furniture and other facility-maintenance products.