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

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,431 shares, an increase of 103.6% from the April 15th total of 4,141 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,164 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hennessy Advisors in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kathryn Fahy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 60,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,890. This represents a 14.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hennessy Advisors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Truffle Hound Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 241.8% in the third quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 150,857 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 106,726 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 72.2% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 73,647 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 30,889 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 49,110 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 108.5% in the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 26,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 13,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hennessy Advisors in the third quarter worth about $218,000. 10.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hennessy Advisors Stock Performance

NASDAQ HNNA traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.92. 3,607 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,847. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.59. Hennessy Advisors has a 12-month low of $8.90 and a 12-month high of $13.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.84 and a 200-day moving average of $9.91.

Hennessy Advisors (NASDAQ:HNNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.09). Hennessy Advisors had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The business had revenue of $8.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.61 million.

Hennessy Advisors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Hennessy Advisors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

About Hennessy Advisors

Hennessy Advisors, Inc is an investment advisory firm specializing in the management of closed-end and open-end funds, as well as separate account strategies. Serving as the investment adviser to a family of publicly traded closed-end funds and a series of mutual funds, the company focuses on generating income and total return for its shareholders by deploying a range of equity and fixed-income strategies. Hennessy Advisors is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and operates under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The firm’s product lineup includes multiple closed-end funds that invest in U.S.