HNI (NYSE:HNI) Price Target Raised to $54.00

HNI (NYSE:HNI) had its price target increased by Benchmark from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of HNI from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI stock opened at $44.19 on Tuesday. HNI has a 1-year low of $24.81 and a 1-year high of $45.47. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $588.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.56 million. HNI had a net margin of 2.57% and a return on equity of 17.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that HNI will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. HNI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.81%.

Insider Activity at HNI

In other news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,592. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.99, for a total value of $107,475.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,590,114.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,718 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,592. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,374 shares of company stock valued at $749,534. 3.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HNI

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of HNI by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 26,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of HNI by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 7,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of HNI by 1.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of HNI by 7.9% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in HNI during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

About HNI

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.