Norges Bank Makes New Investment in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 140,480 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,076,000. Norges Bank owned 0.29% of HNI as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HNI during the fourth quarter valued at $69,253,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,272 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,646,000 after purchasing an additional 105,034 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in HNI by 216.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,015,000 after buying an additional 63,724 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HNI by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $288,016,000 after buying an additional 62,476 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of HNI by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 190,425 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,592,000 after acquiring an additional 53,502 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of HNI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Trading Up 0.4 %

HNI stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,853. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.78. HNI Co. has a 52 week low of $39.76 and a 52 week high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $642.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.03 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

HNI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. HNI's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,394 shares in the company, valued at $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

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.