Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Lowers Stock Position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. lessened its holdings in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,450 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,800 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings in HNI were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in HNI by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HNI by 649.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of HNI in the fourth quarter worth about $176,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company's stock.

HNI Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of HNI stock traded up $0.29 on Thursday, hitting $46.38. The stock had a trading volume of 313,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,971. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.79 and a 200 day moving average of $48.37. HNI Co. has a twelve month low of $39.76 and a twelve month high of $58.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91.

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

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This is a positive change from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. HNI's dividend payout ratio is 48.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

HNI Company Profile

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.