HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Stock Price Down 2.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.61 and last traded at $12.63. 6,125 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 17,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HQI. Barrington Research raised their price objective on HireQuest from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded HireQuest from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of HireQuest in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

HireQuest Trading Down 2.5%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.46. The company has a market capitalization of $175.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.11.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.75 million. HireQuest had a net margin of 21.98% and a return on equity of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HireQuest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 76,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in HireQuest by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HireQuest by 20.3% in the first quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in HireQuest by 4.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 139,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in HireQuest by 158.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 6,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc is a publicly traded holding company that provides equipment rental and workforce solutions across North America through two primary operating subsidiaries. Its Coast Equipment Rentals division offers a broad range of support equipment—such as pumps, trench safety systems, power and HVAC units, air compressors, light towers and generators—to the construction, industrial, municipal and environmental markets. Coast Equipment Rentals operates more than 135 branch locations in 36 U.S.