HNI (NYSE:HNI) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• HNI Corporation shares gapped down significantly before the opening bell on Monday, starting at $40.40 after a previous close of $50.62, and ended trading at $44.41.
• Analysts have offered mixed ratings, with Longbow Research and Wall Street Zen issuing a "buy" and "strong-buy" rating respectively, while Susquehanna provided a more conservative "neutral" rating.
• HNI recently reported $1.11 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue also surpassing expectations at $667.10 million.

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $50.62, but opened at $40.40. HNI shares last traded at $44.41, with a volume of 388,226 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HNI. Longbow Research began coverage on shares of HNI in a report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HNI from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on shares of HNI in a research report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock.

HNI Trading Down 7.6%

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.97. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.95.

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

HNI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. HNI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 1,743 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $92,379.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,085 shares in the company, valued at $1,594,505. This trade represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Dean Hagedorn sold 1,440 shares of HNI stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.07, for a total transaction of $67,780.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,727,986.77. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,383 shares of company stock valued at $270,818 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HNI. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HNI in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in HNI by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 774 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 649.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of HNI in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company's stock.

HNI Company 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.

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