Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) Short Interest Up 27.2% in October

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 355,000 shares, an increase of 27.2% from the October 15th total of 279,100 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 73,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Global Industrial Stock Down 2.6 %

GIC stock opened at $27.14 on Friday. Global Industrial has a 52-week low of $25.00 and a 52-week high of $46.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.86.

Global Industrial (NYSE:GIC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $342.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.44 million. Global Industrial had a net margin of 4.92% and a return on equity of 24.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Global Industrial will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Industrial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 18th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Global Industrial’s payout ratio is 58.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Global Industrial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Global Industrial by 137.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,118,000 after purchasing an additional 414,924 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Global Industrial by 14.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,534,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,085,000 after buying an additional 325,555 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Global Industrial by 101.9% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 177,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,043,000 after buying an additional 89,780 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Global Industrial in the first quarter worth about $3,824,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Global Industrial by 79.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after buying an additional 55,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.19% of the company’s stock.

About Global Industrial

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.