Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Short Interest Update

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 163,900 shares, a drop of 12.9% from the December 15th total of 188,100 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 33,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Hooker Furnishings Price Performance

Shares of Hooker Furnishings stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.25. 19,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,181. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.91 million, a PE ratio of -14.56 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.93 and a 200 day moving average of $15.90. Hooker Furnishings has a fifty-two week low of $12.74 and a fifty-two week high of $25.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hooker Furnishings Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio is currently -101.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paulette Garafalo sold 2,489 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $42,561.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,783 shares in the company, valued at $355,389.30. This trade represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hooker Furnishings

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HOFT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 15.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hooker Furnishings during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 241,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Hooker Furnishings from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings Corporation designs, manufactures, imports, and markets residential household, hospitality, and contract furniture. It operates in three segments: Hooker Branded, Home Meridian, and Domestic Upholstery. The Hooker Branded segment offers design categories, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture under the Hooker Furniture brand; and imported upholstered furniture under the Hooker Upholstery brand.