Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) Raised to "Buy" at Bank of America

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $84.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $69.00. Bank of America's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.06% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Henry Schein in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Henry Schein in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Henry Schein from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Henry Schein from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Henry Schein Stock Performance

HSIC stock traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $71.76. 1,297,663 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 995,488. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.34. Henry Schein has a 52 week low of $63.67 and a 52 week high of $82.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Henry Schein had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Henry Schein will post 4.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Henry Schein

In related news, COO Michael S. Ettinger sold 12,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $918,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 87,706 shares in the company, valued at $6,577,950. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Henry Schein

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Henry Schein by 93.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 352 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Henry Schein by 3.8% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Henry Schein by 5.0% during the second quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Henry Schein by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 10,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Henry Schein by 16.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 96.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Henry Schein

Henry Schein, Inc provides health care products and services to dental practitioners, laboratories, physician practices, and ambulatory surgery centers, government, institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care clinics worldwide. It operates through two segments, Health Care Distribution, and Technology and Value-Added Services.