Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HVT opened at $21.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.44. Haverty Furniture Companies has a 52-week low of $20.37 and a 52-week high of $34.29.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.30. Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $184.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.84 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Haverty Furniture Companies will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.92%. Haverty Furniture Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.40%.

Institutional Trading of Haverty Furniture Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,659,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 31,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 9,386 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 40,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 8,279 shares in the last quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 32,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,715,000 after buying an additional 78,553 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

About Haverty Furniture Companies

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories in the United States. The company offers furniture merchandise under the Havertys brand name. It also provides custom upholstery products and eclectic looks; and mattress product lines under the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Sealy, and Stearns and Foster names.