Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Hooker Furnishings Price Performance

NASDAQ HOFT opened at $13.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 3.16. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.59 and a 200 day moving average of $15.62. Hooker Furnishings has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $24.82.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.22). Hooker Furnishings had a negative return on equity of 3.51% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hooker Furnishings will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Hooker Furnishings Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.05%. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.10%.

Insider Activity at Hooker Furnishings

In other news, Director Paulette Garafalo sold 2,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $42,561.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $355,389.30. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hooker Furnishings

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hooker Furnishings by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 170,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 129,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Hooker Furnishings by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.63% of the company’s stock.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings Corporation designs, manufactures, imports, and markets residential household, hospitality, and contract furniture. It operates in three segments: Hooker Branded, Home Meridian, and Domestic Upholstery. The Hooker Branded segment offers design categories, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture under the Hooker Furniture brand; and imported upholstered furniture under the Hooker Upholstery brand.