HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Stock Bumped Down to "Buy" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded HireQuest from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $19.00.
• HireQuest’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $0.23 per share versus the $0.13 consensus estimate and revenue of $8.10 million against forecasts of $7.10 million.
• The stock opened at $16.31 and has traded between $7.38 and $20.84 over the past year; institutional investors own approximately 12% of the company after several hedge funds initiated positions.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on HireQuest from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barrington Research set a $19.00 price objective on shares of HireQuest in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised HireQuest from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HireQuest has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

HireQuest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HQI opened at $16.31 on Friday. HireQuest has a one year low of $7.38 and a one year high of $20.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.71 million, a P/E ratio of 28.61 and a beta of 1.16.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. HireQuest had a net margin of 27.06% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that HireQuest will post 0.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of HireQuest

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in HireQuest during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,381,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HireQuest in the second quarter valued at $1,169,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HireQuest in the second quarter worth about $315,000. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of HireQuest during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of HireQuest during the second quarter valued at $157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.00% of the company's stock.

HireQuest Company Profile

HireQuest, Inc NASDAQ: HQI is a franchisor of staffing and workforce-solutions businesses. Through its network of independently owned and operated offices, the company supports the placement of temporary and permanent employees across a range of industries, including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, office services and healthcare.

HireQuest's brands include HireQuest, HireQuest Direct and Snelling, among others. Its staffing offices typically recruit, screen and place workers with client companies, while providing services such as payroll administration, workforce coordination and other employment-related support.

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