What happened
Shares of medical and surgical equipment manufacturer Owens & Minor (OMI -2.26%) closed 7.1% lower Wednesday after the company filed a Form S-8 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
So what
As described in an attached letter from its legal counsel, Owens & Minor is registering 1 million new shares for issuance to its employees under its 2021 Teammate Stock Purchase Plan.
Investors seem to be treating the filing as if it were referring simply to a dilutive stock issuance, but if that's the case, they may be making a mistake. For one thing, the size of the issuance is not large: only about 1.3% of all shares that will be outstanding even if the stock purchase plan is implemented in full. This doesn't seem to justify the 7.1% hit the stock took today.
And these shares aren't being handed out for free. The S-8 form clearly states that the company is anticipating receiving approximately $27.36 per share issued under the plan, only about a 5% discount to Tuesday's closing price, and actually more than the shares closed at today.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Today's sell-off feels like an overreaction. With Owens & Minor now selling for only 7.5 times trailing free cash flow (or even 12.8 times FCF with net debt factored into the equation), this is not an expensive stock.
In fact, today's sell-off might even be offering new investors a buying opportunity.
