Short Interest in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Declines By 6.3%

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the January 15th total of 1,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 336,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

HNI Stock Down 4.9 %

HNI stock traded down $2.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.72. 521,440 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 300,198. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.09. HNI has a 52-week low of $40.94 and a 52-week high of $58.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The firm had revenue of $642.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.03 million. On average, analysts predict that HNI will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.16%.

Insider Activity at HNI

In other HNI news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $113,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,880 shares in the company, valued at $2,157,266. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of HNI stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank bought a new position in HNI in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 219.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 739 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 649.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of HNI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

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.