The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCKT) Short Interest Update

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hackett Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 153.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 42,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 25,745 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hackett Group during the 4th quarter worth about $521,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 93,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,866,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 19,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hackett Group during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. 78.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCKT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded The Hackett Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barrington Research increased their price target on The Hackett Group from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.67.

The Hackett Group Price Performance

Shares of HCKT opened at $28.32 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.01. The company has a market capitalization of $787.04 million, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The Hackett Group has a fifty-two week low of $20.23 and a fifty-two week high of $34.02.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.64 million. Research analysts predict that The Hackett Group will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hackett Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from The Hackett Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. The Hackett Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.28%.

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.