Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $23.38, but opened at $21.93. Hillenbrand shares last traded at $20.60, with a volume of 191,423 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Hillenbrand from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Hillenbrand Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.68 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.77.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.02. Hillenbrand had a negative net margin of 7.12% and a positive return on equity of 15.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 80,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hillenbrand by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.