Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Shares of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.00, but opened at $25.82. Hillenbrand shares last traded at $25.93, with a volume of 27,476 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Hillenbrand Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $31.10 and its 200-day moving average is $30.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.20 and a beta of 1.41.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.02. Hillenbrand had a negative net margin of 7.12% and a positive return on equity of 15.00%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Hillenbrand Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Hillenbrand's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 19.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 205,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 33,117 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 284.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 21,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 16,274 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 30.1% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 322,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,959,000 after purchasing an additional 74,527 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,739,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,163,000 after purchasing an additional 19,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,084,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,391,000 after purchasing an additional 105,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.09% of the company's stock.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.