Longbow Research Initiates Coverage on HNI (NYSE:HNI)

Analysts at Longbow Research began coverage on shares of HNI (NYSE:HNI) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Longbow Research’s price target indicates a potential upside of 46.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

HNI Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE HNI opened at $47.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.47. HNI has a 52-week low of $39.76 and a 52-week high of $58.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $599.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that HNI will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of HNI stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,260.60. This trade represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of HNI by 216.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,015,000 after buying an additional 63,724 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in HNI by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 238,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,358 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of HNI by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HNI by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. 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.