HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Trading Down 2.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• HireQuest's shares fell 2.6% during mid-day trading, closing at $9.58, with a decline in trading volume by 22% compared to the average session volume.
• Barrington Research maintains an "outperform" rating with a price target of $13.00, while the company has an average rating of "Buy" among analysts.
• HireQuest announced a quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share, representing a 2.5% yield, although its dividend payout ratio stands at 133.33%.

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $9.58 and last traded at $9.58. 6,511 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 8,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of HireQuest in a report on Thursday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.00.

HireQuest Stock Down 2.6%

The business's fifty day moving average is $9.82 and its 200-day moving average is $10.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.08 million, a PE ratio of 53.22 and a beta of 1.17.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04. HireQuest had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $7.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. HireQuest's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HireQuest

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HireQuest in the second quarter worth $129,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of HireQuest by 62,604.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 15,651 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HireQuest in the first quarter valued at $317,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HireQuest by 4.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 139,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares during the period. 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.

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