HNI (NYSE:HNI) Stock Price Up 5.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• HNI shares rose 5.4% in mid-day trading, reaching as high as $42.49 after closing at $40.45 the previous day. Trading volume was far below average, with just 27,342 shares changing hands.
• Analyst opinions were mixed, with Wells Fargo setting a $65 price target and Benchmark reiterating a buy rating, while Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock to sell. MarketBeat data shows a consensus rating of Hold.
• HNI beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.34 EPS versus the $0.31 estimate, and it recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.35 per share, implying a 3.3% yield.

Shares of HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) rose 5.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.49 and last traded at $42.6240. Approximately 27,342 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 710,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price target on HNI in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of HNI from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of HNI in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $65.00.

HNI Trading Up 5.2%

The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.48 and its 200-day moving average is $39.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. HNI had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's revenue was up 124.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HNI Corporation will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from HNI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. HNI's payout ratio is currently 341.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HNI in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,666,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in HNI during the first quarter worth about $10,301,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in HNI by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 754,493 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,719,000 after acquiring an additional 140,971 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in HNI by 167.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,621 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 26,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in HNI in the third quarter valued at approximately $676,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company's stock.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, founded in 1944 as the Heating & Novelty Company and headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, is a leading manufacturer of office furniture and hearth products. Over its history, the company has evolved from producing gas heaters into two primary business segments: Office Furniture and Hearth & Home. HNI's Office Furniture division operates under well-known brands such as The HON Company, Allsteel, Gunlocke and Kimball, offering a comprehensive portfolio of workstations, seating, tables, storage solutions and acoustic products tailored for corporate, education, healthcare and government markets.

In its Hearth & Home segment, HNI designs, manufactures and distributes fireplaces, stoves, fireplace inserts, logs and related accessories.

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