HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Trading Down 0.2% - Here's Why

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $10.01 and last traded at $10.01. 2,725 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 15,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research cut their target price on HireQuest from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

HireQuest Stock Up 4.0%

The firm has a market cap of $141.26 million, a PE ratio of 40.36 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.69.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.03 million. HireQuest had a return on equity of 13.80% and a net margin of 10.15%. On average, equities research analysts predict that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. HireQuest's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HireQuest

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HireQuest by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 132,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of HireQuest by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 111,488 shares of the company's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 26,913 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of HireQuest by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 53,808 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HireQuest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $317,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of HireQuest during the 4th quarter worth approximately $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.00% of the company's stock.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.