HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 709,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the May 31st total of 668,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 208,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HNI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of HNI from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.86. 92,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 249,029. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $44.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.86. HNI has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $47.60.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.19. HNI had a return on equity of 17.75% and a net margin of 2.57%. The business had revenue of $588.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.56 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that HNI will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. HNI’s payout ratio is presently 97.78%.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In related news, CFO Marshall H. Bridges sold 8,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.50, for a total transaction of $389,070.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 76,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,667. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Marshall H. Bridges sold 8,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.50, for a total transaction of $389,070.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 76,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,667. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donna D. Meade sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $459,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,198.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,349 shares of company stock worth $931,479. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HNI by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of HNI by 2.0% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 45,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital raised its position in shares of HNI by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 34,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in HNI by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in HNI in the 1st quarter worth about $3,987,000. 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.