Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:TILE) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 976,550 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 123% from the previous session’s volume of 438,591 shares.The stock last traded at $25.2380 and had previously closed at $25.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TILE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Interface from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Interface from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research lowered Interface from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price objective on Interface from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interface currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Interface Stock Down 0.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Interface (NASDAQ:TILE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The textile maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $349.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $350.54 million. Interface had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 8.37%.The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Interface, Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interface Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This is an increase from Interface’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Interface’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.12%.

Insider Activity at Interface

In related news, VP James Poppens sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 103,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,912,880.30. This trade represents a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 25,650 shares of company stock worth $736,292 in the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interface

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TILE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Interface by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,689,857 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $75,105,000 after purchasing an additional 36,530 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Interface by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 2,629,174 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,407,000 after purchasing an additional 84,793 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Interface by 5.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,549 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $69,819,000 after buying an additional 126,263 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Interface by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,192,472 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,214,000 after buying an additional 14,764 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Interface by 133.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,008,260 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $56,071,000 after buying an additional 1,149,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

About Interface

Interface, Inc (NASDAQ: TILE) is a global manufacturer of modular flooring and resilient commercial flooring solutions. The company specializes in carpet tiles, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and other environmentally responsible hard-surface products designed for use in corporate, education, healthcare, hospitality and retail environments. Interface’s portfolio also includes broadloom carpet, rubber flooring and acoustic underlays, all engineered to meet performance, design and sustainability requirements in modern interior spaces.

Founded in 1973 by Ray C.