Short Interest in HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) Expands By 17.6%

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 157,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 133,500 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.3 days.

HireQuest Price Performance

Shares of HQI stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $13.35. The stock had a trading volume of 62,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,502. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.36 and a beta of 1.03. HireQuest has a one year low of $11.39 and a one year high of $15.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.99.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. HireQuest’s payout ratio is currently 218.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in HireQuest by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 132,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of HireQuest by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 111,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 26,913 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in HireQuest by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 53,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in HireQuest during the fourth quarter worth $309,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of HireQuest by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 11,007 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.