Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Stock Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Haverty Furniture shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $27.77 compared with the average of $25.00, though the stock remained near its 50-day average of $27.80.
• Analysts have recently upgraded the stock, but the overall consensus remains “Hold”. The company exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.25 versus $0.23 expected and revenue of $194.94 million versus $189.19 million forecast.
• Haverty paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to a 4.8% annualized yield, but its payout ratio was high at 97.06%; meanwhile, Chairman Clarence Smith sold roughly 21,000 shares.

Shares of Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $25.00 and traded as high as $27.77. Haverty Furniture Companies shares last traded at $27.4710, with a volume of 101,418 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HVT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Haverty Furniture Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised Haverty Furniture Companies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Haverty Furniture Companies from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.00. The company has a market cap of $428.27 million, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.22.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 7.15%. The business had revenue of $194.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.19 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Haverty Furniture Companies's dividend payout ratio is 97.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Clarence Smith sold 20,991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.16, for a total value of $591,106.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 71,705 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,212.80. This trade represents a 22.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HVT. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Haverty Furniture Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,915,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Haverty Furniture Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,128,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Haverty Furniture Companies by 2.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 719,830 shares of the company's stock worth $15,246,000 after buying an additional 19,624 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Haverty Furniture Companies during the second quarter worth $4,123,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Haverty Furniture Companies by 65.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 164,994 shares of the company's stock worth $3,495,000 after buying an additional 65,292 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.57% of the company's stock.

Haverty Furniture Companies Company Profile

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc is a specialty retailer of residential furniture and related home furnishings. The company sells furniture for living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, home offices and other areas of the home, along with mattresses, rugs, lighting, accent pieces and home accessories. Havertys offers its products through retail stores and its e-commerce platform.

The company also provides services intended to support the furniture-buying process, including interior design assistance, in-home delivery and furniture financing options.

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