StockNews.com Downgrades Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) to Sell

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock.

Hillenbrand Trading Down 1.2 %

HI traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 566,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,858. Hillenbrand has a twelve month low of $35.44 and a twelve month high of $50.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74 and a beta of 1.44.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. Hillenbrand had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.79%. The company had revenue of $786.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Hillenbrand will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HI. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand in the fourth quarter worth about $756,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,041,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,675,000. 89.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.