Short Interest in WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) Expands By 27.8%

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE:WCC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the October 31st total of 947,100 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 732,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of WESCO International from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens boosted their target price on WESCO International from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Baird R W raised WESCO International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of WESCO International from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of WESCO International from $186.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WESCO International presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.86.

WESCO International Price Performance

WESCO International stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $212.07. The company had a trading volume of 436,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,210. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.27. The company has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.29. WESCO International has a 1 year low of $132.37 and a 1 year high of $216.17.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $5.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 3.19%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WESCO International will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.4125 dividend. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. WESCO International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven A. Raymund sold 5,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.56, for a total value of $998,307.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,632,806.24. This trade represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David S. Schulz sold 14,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.55, for a total transaction of $3,085,443.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 104,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,578,485.05. This represents a 12.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,586 shares of company stock valued at $6,565,762. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCC. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WESCO International by 71.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in WESCO International by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in WESCO International by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 23,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,881,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in WESCO International by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in WESCO International by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.76% of the company’s stock.

WESCO International Company Profile

WESCO International, Inc provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS).