Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the July 31st total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 432,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of Hillenbrand stock opened at $32.96 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 1.44. Hillenbrand has a 12 month low of $31.81 and a 12 month high of $50.58.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 14.89% and a negative net margin of 6.67%. The business had revenue of $786.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Hillenbrand’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hillenbrand will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.2225 dividend. This is a boost from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Hillenbrand’s payout ratio is currently 73.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter worth about $40,130,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hillenbrand by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,702,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,645,000 after acquiring an additional 290,275 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,408,000 after acquiring an additional 253,730 shares in the last quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,664,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,285,000. Institutional investors own 89.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HI. DA Davidson lowered Hillenbrand from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp began coverage on Hillenbrand in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hillenbrand from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.