HNI (NYSE:HNI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com lowered shares of HNI (NYSE:HNI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI stock opened at $46.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. HNI has a 12-month low of $40.94 and a 12-month high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.03 million. HNI had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 4.83%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HNI will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HNI news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of HNI stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $113,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,157,266. The trade was a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in HNI in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HNI by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in HNI by 219.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 739 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of HNI by 649.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

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.