Sapient Capital LLC Invests $2.52 Million in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 60,125 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,515,000. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.13% of HNI as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in HNI in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in HNI during the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in HNI during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. Carlson Capital Management purchased a new stake in HNI during the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in HNI during the 3rd quarter valued at $238,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.99, for a total value of $107,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,590,114.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other HNI news, Director Mary A. Bell sold 2,898 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $124,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 76,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,285,772.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.99, for a total transaction of $107,475.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,590,114.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,374 shares of company stock valued at $749,534. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of HNI from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered HNI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th.

HNI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HNI traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.19. The company had a trading volume of 214,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.87. HNI Co. has a 12-month low of $24.81 and a 12-month high of $45.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.14.

HNI (NYSE:HNI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $588.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $574.56 million. HNI had a return on equity of 17.75% and a net margin of 2.57%. HNI's revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that HNI Co. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. HNI's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.81%.

About HNI

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.