Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HNI were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HNI by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HNI by 649.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of HNI during the 4th quarter worth about $176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HNI. StockNews.com raised shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Longbow Research started coverage on shares of HNI in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna initiated coverage on HNI in a research note on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock.

HNI Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE HNI opened at $47.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. HNI Co. has a 12 month low of $39.76 and a 12 month high of $58.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.53 and a 200-day moving average of $48.44.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The firm had revenue of $599.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. HNI’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. HNI’s payout ratio is currently 48.40%.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In other HNI news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.37% 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.