HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Short Interest Update

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) was the target of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 863,600 shares, a drop of 6.5% from the November 15th total of 923,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 280,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

HNI Stock Performance

NYSE HNI traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.02. The company had a trading volume of 202,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,939. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.14. HNI has a fifty-two week low of $39.95 and a fifty-two week high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $672.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.75 million. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HNI will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of HNI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $123,336.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at $642,708. This trade represents a 16.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of HNI stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $113,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,880 shares in the company, valued at $2,157,266. This trade represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HNI

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HNI by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,084,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,419,000 after acquiring an additional 7,553 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of HNI by 216.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,015,000 after acquiring an additional 63,724 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HNI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $281,000. Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of HNI by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 5,158 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of HNI by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 72,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,926,000 after acquiring an additional 28,459 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.