Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Lowers Position in Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has reduced its stake in Haverty Furniture Companies by 20.0%, owning 59,600 shares after selling 14,946 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutions, including Nisa Investment Advisors and GAMMA Investing, significantly increased their positions in Haverty Furniture Companies, with GAMMA raising its stake by 4,637.0%.
• Haverty Furniture Companies recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 6.3%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,946 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.37% of Haverty Furniture Companies worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Haverty Furniture Companies by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 966,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,051,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 326,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,107 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,715,000 after acquiring an additional 78,553 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 160,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 147,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,274,000 after acquiring an additional 19,546 shares during the last quarter. 80.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HVT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Sidoti raised shares of Haverty Furniture Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Performance

NYSE HVT traded up $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $21.25. 34,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,901. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.24 million, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.42. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.01 and a 52-week high of $29.54.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $181.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.11 million. Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Sell-side analysts expect that Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Haverty Furniture Companies's dividend payout ratio is 111.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rawson Haverty, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $31,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 38,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $785,935.41. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Haverty Furniture Companies

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories in the United States. The company offers furniture merchandise under the Havertys brand name. It also provides custom upholstery products and eclectic looks; and mattress product lines under the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Sealy, and Stearns and Foster names.