Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $365,000 Position in HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has made a new investment in HNI Corporation, acquiring 8,219 shares valued at approximately $365,000.
• HNI Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.11, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue increase of 7.0% year-over-year.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.33 to $0.34 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.2%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,219 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $365,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of HNI by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,967 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in HNI by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,873 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in HNI during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of HNI by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,401 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of HNI by 649.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HNI Price Performance

Shares of HNI stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,007,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 610,250. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.95. HNI Corporation has a 52 week low of $39.76 and a 52 week high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.25. HNI had a net margin of 5.73% and a return on equity of 20.08%. The company had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $646.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. HNI's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that HNI Corporation will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. HNI's payout ratio is currently 44.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HNI. Longbow Research began coverage on shares of HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 report on Friday, May 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 1,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $92,379.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,594,505. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason Dean Hagedorn sold 1,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.07, for a total value of $67,780.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,727,986.77. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,383 shares of company stock valued at $270,818. Insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

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.