HNI (NYSE:HNI) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI)’s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.34 and traded as high as $48.22. HNI shares last traded at $47.8640, with a volume of 784,189 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HNI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of HNI in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on HNI in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of HNI in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised HNI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

HNI Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 531.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.95.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. HNI had a net margin of 0.10% and a return on equity of 13.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 120.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that HNI Corporation will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,555.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Lorenger sold 1,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $75,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 148,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,424,500. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 95,138 shares of company stock valued at $4,648,587 over the last three months. 2.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HNI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HNI during the second quarter worth about $431,744,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of HNI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,988,000. Front Street Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,462,000. Pillsbury Lake Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,681,571. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of HNI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,724,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Company Profile

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI), headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, is a workplace and residential building products company. Its businesses serve organizations, businesses, education and government customers, as well as residential consumers through office furnishings and hearth products.

HNI’s workplace furnishings portfolio includes desks, tables, seating, storage, collaborative products and related workplace solutions. Its brands include HON, Allsteel, HBF and Gunlocke, among others. The company sells products through dealers, retailers, e-commerce channels and other distribution partners, primarily serving customers in North America.

Through its hearth products business, HNI manufactures fireplaces, inserts, stoves and related products fueled by gas, wood and pellets.