HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 258,055 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,874 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of HNI worth $11,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HNI. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in HNI during the 4th quarter worth $8,897,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in HNI by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 605,964 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,522,000 after buying an additional 157,579 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HNI during the 4th quarter worth $7,076,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in HNI by 6.8% during the 4th 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. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in HNI by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 444,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,364,000 after buying an additional 111,000 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jason Dean Hagedorn sold 1,440 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,400. The trade was a 5.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI traded up $0.81 on Thursday, reaching $51.72. 229,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,203. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $48.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.73. HNI Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.76 and a fifty-two week high of $58.42.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $599.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.47 million. HNI had a return on equity of 18.48% and a net margin of 5.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This is a boost from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. HNI's payout ratio is 48.40%.

HNI 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.