Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New Investment in HNI Corporation $HNI

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in HNI in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in HNI during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of HNI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of HNI by 9.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 13,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of HNI during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HNI

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Lorenger sold 39,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.09, for a total transaction of $1,982,361.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 148,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,437,864.10. The trade was a 21.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,288 shares of company stock valued at $2,468,419. Company insiders own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HNI shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 target price on shares of HNI in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised HNI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of HNI in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of HNI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HNI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

HNI Price Performance

NYSE:HNI opened at $49.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.94. HNI Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.93 and a 12-month high of $52.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.06.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.23. HNI had a net margin of 1.00% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. HNI’s revenue was up 132.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that HNI Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

HNI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. HNI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 318.18%.

HNI Profile

HNI Corporation is a workplace furnishings and residential building products company. Its workplace furnishings business designs and manufactures office furniture and related products for businesses, government organizations, educational institutions and other customers. Its portfolio includes brands such as HON, Allsteel and Gunlocke, with products ranging from office seating and desks to workstations and storage. HNI also makes fireplaces, stoves and related hearth products through brands including Heat & Glo, Heatilator, Majestic, Harman and Quadra-Fire.