Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 11,716 Shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 250,181 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,716 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.52% of HNI worth $12,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HNI. Covestor Ltd grew 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 purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HNI in the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HNI by 4,746.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of HNI during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HNI by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares in the company, valued at $718,260.60. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $113,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,266. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut HNI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HNI traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $46.17. 225,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 314,887. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $49.28 and its 200-day moving average is $51.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.90. HNI Co. has a 12-month low of $40.94 and a 12-month 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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.03 million. HNI had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 18.27%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. HNI's dividend payout ratio is 45.67%.

About HNI

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.