Ancora Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 26,619 HireQuest, Inc. $HQI

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in HireQuest, Inc., purchasing 26,619 shares valued at approximately $317,000, which gives them a 0.19% ownership of the company.
• HireQuest recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, translating to a 2.4% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.
• Analysts recommend a Buy rating for HireQuest shares, with a target price set at $13.00 according to Barrington Research.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $317,000. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of HireQuest as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,651 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,187 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 53,808 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 62,604.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 15,651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of HireQuest in a report on Thursday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.00.

HireQuest Stock Performance

HQI traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,379. HireQuest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.94 and a 52-week high of $15.75. The company's fifty day moving average price is $9.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.66. The company has a market capitalization of $141 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.56 and a beta of 1.17.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04. HireQuest had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 7.47%.The company had revenue of $7.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 million. Equities analysts predict that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. HireQuest's payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.