Trigran Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT)

Trigran Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 877,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 201,283 shares during the quarter. The Hackett Group comprises approximately 3.1% of Trigran Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Trigran Investments Inc. owned 3.18% of The Hackett Group worth $26,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCKT. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 353.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in The Hackett Group by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in The Hackett Group in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Hackett Group during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hackett Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. 78.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCKT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of The Hackett Group in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of The Hackett Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hackett Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.67.

The Hackett Group Price Performance

The Hackett Group stock opened at $25.86 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The Hackett Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.23 and a 1 year high of $34.02. The company has a market capitalization of $714.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The Hackett Group had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 36.40%. The firm had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.64 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hackett Group, Inc. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This is a boost from The Hackett Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The Hackett Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions.