Short Interest in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Increases By 13.7%

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 823,100 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the October 15th total of 723,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 253,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HNI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of HNI from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In related news, Director Mary A. Bell sold 5,000 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.85, for a total value of $259,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 74,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,857,691.85. This trade represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,708. This trade represents a 16.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,480 shares of company stock valued at $2,041,210. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HNI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of HNI by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 47,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 11,168 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in HNI by 27.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 16,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in HNI by 184.7% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 102,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,618,000 after purchasing an additional 66,387 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in HNI by 5.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,566,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $251,208,000 after purchasing an additional 287,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of HNI during the first quarter valued at about $4,267,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HNI traded down $0.14 on Monday, hitting $54.74. 10,711 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,505. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.85. HNI has a 12 month low of $38.55 and a 12 month high of $57.59.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $672.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.75 million. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that HNI will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.16%.

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.