Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. Sells 16,695 Shares of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETD)

Key Points

• Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. reduced its stake in Ethan Allen Interiors by 55%, owning only 13,635 shares worth approximately $378,000 following the sale of 16,695 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported $0.38 EPS for the recent quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 EPS, with revenues also falling short of expectations at $142.70 million.
• Ethan Allen Interiors recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, yielding 5.23%, with a payout ratio of 69.33%.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. decreased its position in Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETD - Free Report) by 55.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,635 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,695 shares during the quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. owned 0.05% of Ethan Allen Interiors worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Ethan Allen Interiors by 12,857.1% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 907 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Ethan Allen Interiors during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ethan Allen Interiors by 73.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,604 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Ethan Allen Interiors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Ethan Allen Interiors during the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ethan Allen Interiors in a report on Thursday.

Ethan Allen Interiors Stock Performance

Shares of ETD stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $29.96. The company had a trading volume of 351,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,418. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.88 million, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.98. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. has a one year low of $24.55 and a one year high of $35.62.

Ethan Allen Interiors (NYSE:ETD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.04. Ethan Allen Interiors had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $160.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $152.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ethan Allen Interiors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. Ethan Allen Interiors's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ethan Allen Interiors news, CEO M Farooq Kathwari sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.85, for a total transaction of $268,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,611,905 shares in the company, valued at $43,279,649.25. The trade was a 0.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 11,366 shares of company stock worth $305,390 in the last three months. 10.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ethan Allen Interiors Profile

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc operates as an interior design company, and manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings in the United States, Mexico, Honduras, and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. Its products include case goods items, such as beds, dressers, armoires, tables, chairs, buffets, entertainment units, home office furniture, and wooden accents; upholstery comprising fabric-covered items, such as sleepers, recliners and other motion furniture, chairs, ottomans, custom pillows, sofas, loveseats, cut fabrics, and leather; and home accent items consisting of window treatments and drapery hardware, wall decors, florals, lighting, clocks, mattresses, bedspreads, throws, pillows, decorative accents, area rugs, wall coverings, and home and garden furnishings.