Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSET) Short Interest Down 43.2% in July

Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSET) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 46,783 shares, a drop of 43.2% from the July 15th total of 82,437 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 46,489 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Bassett Furniture Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSET traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.10. The company had a trading volume of 15,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,811. The company has a market capitalization of $165.41 million, a PE ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.13. Bassett Furniture Industries has a 52 week low of $13.17 and a 52 week high of $22.26.

Bassett Furniture Industries (NASDAQ:BSET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. Bassett Furniture Industries had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 3.56%. The business had revenue of $83.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $83.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Bassett Furniture Industries will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bassett Furniture Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Bassett Furniture Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Institutional Trading of Bassett Furniture Industries

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $465,000. Aegis Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries by 5.2% during the first quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 526,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,457,000 after purchasing an additional 25,878 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Bassett Furniture Industries by 67.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Bassett Furniture Industries in the second quarter worth $246,000. 54.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BSET shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Bassett Furniture Industries from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research raised Bassett Furniture Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bassett Furniture Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

About Bassett Furniture Industries

Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: BSET), headquartered in Bassett, Virginia, is a vertically integrated manufacturer and retailer of residential home furnishings. The company designs, produces and markets a range of furniture items, including upholstered seating, wood case goods, bedroom collections, dining room sets and home décor accessories. Bassett is known for its emphasis on craftsmanship, offering both ready-to-assemble pieces and made-to-order products that cater to varying design preferences and space requirements.

Bassett’s products are sold through a dual-channel distribution network comprising company-owned Bassett Home Furnishings stores, a franchise and independent dealer network, and an e-commerce platform that provides online shopping, virtual design consultations and customization tools.