Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,200 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the November 30th total of 103,200 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 11,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.4 days.

Hennessy Advisors Price Performance

Hennessy Advisors stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.75. The company had a trading volume of 27,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,845. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 13.78 and a quick ratio of 17.39. Hennessy Advisors has a 12-month low of $6.38 and a 12-month high of $13.88. The company has a market capitalization of $99.20 million, a P/E ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.74.

Hennessy Advisors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.138 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Hennessy Advisors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Daniel B. Steadman sold 3,407 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.99, for a total transaction of $40,849.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 38,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $459,001.18. This represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas L. Seavey sold 11,074 shares of Hennessy Advisors stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $126,686.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,429 shares in the company, valued at $805,707.76. This represents a 13.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,083 shares of company stock worth $367,315 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 37.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hennessy Advisors

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hennessy Advisors in the 3rd quarter valued at $518,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 1.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 95,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 1,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 35.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,379 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 11,877 shares during the last quarter. 10.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hennessy Advisors

Hennessy Advisors, Inc is an employee owned investment manager. It provides its services to Hennessy Funds and investment companies. The firm launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth stocks of companies.