The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) Short Interest Up 43.3% in February

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 323,600 shares, a growth of 43.3% from the February 13th total of 225,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 105,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of The Hackett Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in The Hackett Group by 202.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 37,695 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 700,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,399,000 after buying an additional 29,699 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 641,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,927,000 after buying an additional 25,249 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hackett Group by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after buying an additional 48,661 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hackett Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.12% of the company’s stock.

The Hackett Group Stock Up 0.1 %

The Hackett Group stock opened at $28.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. The Hackett Group has a 1-year low of $20.23 and a 1-year high of $34.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.98.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The Hackett Group had a return on equity of 36.40% and a net margin of 9.44%. The business had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.64 million. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hackett Group will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from The Hackett Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The Hackett Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research lifted their price target on The Hackett Group from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut The Hackett Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hackett Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.67.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group, Inc operates as an intellectual property-based executive advisory, strategic consulting, and digital transformation company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation, Oracle Solutions, and SAP Solutions.