Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 141,464 Shares of HNI Corporation $HNI

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in HNI Corporation by 2.5%, selling 141,464 shares and now holding approximately 5.58 million shares valued at $247.3 million.
• HNI Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 44.16%.
• During the last quarter, HNI Corp. reported earnings per share of $1.11, exceeding analysts' expectations, and is projected to post earnings of $3.6 per share for the current year.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,576,550 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 141,464 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.86% of HNI worth $247,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in HNI in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in HNI by 649.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in HNI by 3,984.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in HNI in the first quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in HNI by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,670 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,470 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HNI Trading Up 3.1%

HNI traded up $1.3680 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.8380. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,005,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,394. HNI Corporation has a twelve month low of $39.76 and a twelve month high of $58.42. 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 fifty day moving average price is $48.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.95.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.49 million. HNI had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 5.73%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HNI Corporation will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. HNI's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,400. This represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Dean Hagedorn sold 1,440 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 36,711 shares in the company, valued at $1,727,986.77. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,383 shares of company stock worth $270,818 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HNI has been the subject of several research reports. Longbow Research initiated coverage on HNI in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna started coverage on HNI in a research note on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, HNI currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

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.