Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Separately, Sidoti raised shares of Haverty Furniture Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Haverty Furniture Companies Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of HVT traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.28. The stock had a trading volume of 102,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,107. Haverty Furniture Companies has a fifty-two week low of $17.01 and a fifty-two week high of $29.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.80. The firm has a market cap of $327.52 million, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $181.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.36 million. Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 6.94%. On average, analysts expect that Haverty Furniture Companies will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Haverty Furniture Companies's dividend payout ratio is 101.59%.

Insider Activity at Haverty Furniture Companies

In other news, Director Rawson Haverty, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Haverty Furniture Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.67, for a total value of $31,005.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 38,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $785,935.41. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haverty Furniture Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 1,929.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 509.5% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 4,637.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the company's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 4,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 163.0% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,645 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.57% of the company's stock.

About Haverty Furniture Companies

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories in the United States. The company offers furniture merchandise under the Havertys brand name. It also provides custom upholstery products and eclectic looks; and mattress product lines under the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Sealy, and Stearns and Foster names.