Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,083 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HNI were worth $1,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in HNI by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in HNI by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of HNI by 1.0% in 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 period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of HNI by 1.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of HNI by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Stock Performance

NYSE:HNI opened at $47.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. HNI Co. has a 12-month low of $39.76 and a 12-month high of $58.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HNI shares. Longbow Research started coverage on shares of HNI in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on shares of HNI in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Activity at HNI

In other HNI news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,260.60. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HNI Company Profile

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.