HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Stock Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.32 and traded as high as $18.02. HireQuest shares last traded at $17.59, with a volume of 12,657 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HQI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised HireQuest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barrington Research set a $19.00 price objective on HireQuest in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of HireQuest from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut HireQuest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

HireQuest Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.32 and a 200-day moving average of $13.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86 and a beta of 1.26.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. HireQuest had a net margin of 27.06% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 million. On average, research analysts forecast that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current year.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HireQuest

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in HireQuest in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,169,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HireQuest in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,381,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of HireQuest by 113.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 77,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 41,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in HireQuest during the second quarter worth $157,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of HireQuest during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc (NASDAQ: HQI) is a franchisor of staffing and workforce-solutions businesses. Through its network of independently owned and operated offices, the company supports the placement of temporary and permanent employees across a range of industries, including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, office services and healthcare.

HireQuest’s brands include HireQuest, HireQuest Direct and Snelling, among others. Its staffing offices typically recruit, screen and place workers with client companies, while providing services such as payroll administration, workforce coordination and other employment-related support.