HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Stock Position Lessened by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,540 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,865 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in HNI were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of HNI by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $288,016,000 after purchasing an additional 62,476 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of HNI by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,960,596 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $98,755,000 after buying an additional 124,391 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in HNI by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,623,706 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $81,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,249 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in HNI during the 4th quarter valued at $69,253,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in HNI by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,498 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,992,000 after acquiring an additional 6,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company's stock.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $46.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,321. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.16. HNI Co. has a twelve month low of $39.76 and a twelve month high of $58.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $599.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.47 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HNI. Longbow Research initiated coverage on shares of HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.