HNI (NYSE:HNI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of HNI (NYSE:HNI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

HNI Price Performance

NYSE HNI opened at $47.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.46 and its 200-day moving average is $48.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. HNI has a 12-month low of $39.76 and a 12-month high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The firm had revenue of $599.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that HNI will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. HNI’s dividend payout ratio is 46.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HNI

In other news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of HNI by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in HNI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in HNI by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in HNI by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in HNI by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.