HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Short Interest Update

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 823,100 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the October 15th total of 723,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 253,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

HNI Stock Performance

Shares of HNI stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.74. 10,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,505. HNI has a one year low of $38.55 and a one year high of $57.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.60.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The business had revenue of $672.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that HNI will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of HNI from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $123,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $642,708. This trade represents a 16.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey D. Lorenger sold 9,447 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.42, for a total value of $504,658.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 296,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,859,970.64. This represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,480 shares of company stock valued at $2,041,210 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of HNI by 30.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 47,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11,168 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in HNI by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 16,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in HNI by 184.7% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 102,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,618,000 after buying an additional 66,387 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in HNI by 5.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,566,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $251,208,000 after acquiring an additional 287,735 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of HNI in the first quarter valued at about $4,267,000. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HNI Company Profile

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.