HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) Short Interest Update

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,827,875 shares, a drop of 53.9% from the November 30th total of 6,139,043 shares. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,372,926 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,372,926 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of HNI during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of HNI by 44.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of HNI by 433.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of HNI by 4,741.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in HNI in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of HNI stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $42.52. 131,125 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 525,618. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.93. HNI has a 52-week low of $38.03 and a 52-week high of $53.29.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. HNI had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 5.46%.The company had revenue of $683.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. HNI’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that HNI will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. HNI’s payout ratio is presently 45.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HNI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HNI in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of HNI in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, founded in 1944 as the Heating & Novelty Company and headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, is a leading manufacturer of office furniture and hearth products. Over its history, the company has evolved from producing gas heaters into two primary business segments: Office Furniture and Hearth & Home. HNI’s Office Furniture division operates under well-known brands such as The HON Company, Allsteel, Gunlocke and Kimball, offering a comprehensive portfolio of workstations, seating, tables, storage solutions and acoustic products tailored for corporate, education, healthcare and government markets.

In its Hearth & Home segment, HNI designs, manufactures and distributes fireplaces, stoves, fireplace inserts, logs and related accessories.