Short Interest in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Increases By 15.3%

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 995,900 shares, a growth of 15.3% from the November 30th total of 863,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 321,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

HNI Price Performance

Shares of HNI stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.19. 200,061 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,352. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.57. HNI has a twelve month low of $39.95 and a twelve month high of $58.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. HNI had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 4.83%. The firm had revenue of $672.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that HNI will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. HNI's dividend payout ratio is 51.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HNI

In other news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $123,336.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,708. The trade was a 16.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the 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 owns 37,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,157,266. The trade was a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of HNI

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HNI. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in HNI during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in HNI by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 670 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of HNI by 219.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 739 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the third quarter worth approximately $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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