Bernzott Capital Advisors Cuts Stock Position in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)

Bernzott Capital Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 202,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,718 shares during the quarter. Hillenbrand comprises about 3.1% of Bernzott Capital Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors’ holdings in Hillenbrand were worth $6,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand during the third quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hillenbrand by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand during the third quarter worth about $48,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 32.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the third quarter worth about $75,000. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of HI opened at $33.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.20 and a beta of 1.43. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.11 and a 52-week high of $50.58.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $837.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $793.38 million. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 14.86% and a negative net margin of 6.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio is -30.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised Hillenbrand from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.