Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,200 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the November 30th total of 103,200 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 11,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.4 days.

Hennessy Advisors Price Performance

Hennessy Advisors stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,845. The company has a current ratio of 13.78, a quick ratio of 17.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $99.20 million, a PE ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.80. Hennessy Advisors has a 52 week low of $6.38 and a 52 week high of $13.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.72.

Hennessy Advisors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.138 per share. This represents a $0.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Hennessy Advisors’s dividend payout ratio is 59.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hennessy Advisors

In related news, VP Daniel B. Steadman sold 3,407 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.99, for a total transaction of $40,849.93. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 38,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,001.18. This trade represents a 8.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas L. Seavey sold 11,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $126,686.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 70,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $805,707.76. This represents a 13.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,083 shares of company stock valued at $367,315. 37.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hennessy Advisors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hennessy Advisors during the third quarter worth $518,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 35.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 11,877 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 1.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 95,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.31% of the company’s stock.

About Hennessy Advisors

Hennessy Advisors, Inc is an employee owned investment manager. It provides its services to Hennessy Funds and investment companies. The firm launches and manages equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in growth stocks of companies.