The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 256,900 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the January 15th total of 238,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 93,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HCKT. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 353.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hackett Group in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 383.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,174 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 8.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,061 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of The Hackett Group in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.12% of the company's stock.

The Hackett Group Price Performance

NASDAQ HCKT traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.18. 201,908 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 97,003. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.53. The Hackett Group has a 1 year low of $20.23 and a 1 year high of $34.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $832.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.99.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The Hackett Group had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 36.40%. The firm had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $75.64 million. On average, analysts predict that The Hackett Group will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from The Hackett Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The Hackett Group's payout ratio is currently 41.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCKT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on The Hackett Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised The Hackett Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on The Hackett Group from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barrington Research raised their price target on The Hackett Group from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.67.

The Hackett Group Company Profile

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions.