HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) Short Interest Up 17.6% in February

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 157,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 133,500 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 15,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HireQuest

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in HireQuest by 288.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in HireQuest by 233.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in HireQuest by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in HireQuest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HireQuest Trading Up 1.5 %

HQI traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.55. 256 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,465. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.98. HireQuest has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $15.75.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 218.18%.

HireQuest Company Profile

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.