HireQuest (HQI) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

HireQuest, Inc. is a publicly traded holding company that provides equipment rental and workforce solutions across North America through two primary operating subsidiaries. Its Coast Equipment Rentals division offers a broad range of support equipment—such as pumps, trench safety systems, power and HVAC units, air compressors, light towers and generators—to the construction, industrial, municipal and environmental markets. Coast Equipment Rentals operates more than 135 branch locations in 36 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, serving customers engaged in maintenance, infrastructure projects and emergency response.

The company’s Management Resources Solutions (MRS) business delivers staffing and workforce management services across technical, industrial and skilled labor sectors. MRS specializes in contract staffing, direct-hire placement and contingent workforce programs, serving industries that include manufacturing, energy, infrastructure maintenance and environmental services. By offering per-diem, contract-to-hire and project-based staffing solutions, the division helps clients optimize labor resources, streamline project execution and respond quickly to shifting workforce needs.

Since listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker HQI, HireQuest has grown organically and through targeted acquisitions to broaden its geographic footprint and expand service capabilities. While strategic direction is overseen by its corporate leadership team, each operating subsidiary is managed by industry-seasoned executives who focus on customer service, operational efficiency and safety compliance.

Combining a national equipment rental network with specialized human capital services, HireQuest aims to provide integrated solutions that minimize downtime, reduce project risk and enhance productivity for a diverse base of clients across the United States and Canada.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $8.50 to $8.95
• 50-Day Range: $8.32 to $10.30
• 52-Week Range: $8.04 to $15.75
• Volume: 3,011 shs
• Average Volume: 13,451 shs
• Market Capitalization: $122.88 million
• P/E Ratio: 48.42
• Dividend Yield: 2.75%
• Price Target: $13.00
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

HireQuest Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

HireQuest scored higher than 72% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 91st out of 327 stocks in the business services sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.7 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

HireQuest has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 1 buy rating, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

HireQuest has a consensus price target of $13.00, representing about 52.9% upside from its current price of $8.50.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

HireQuest has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 196.43%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for HireQuest are expected to grow by 196.43% in the coming year, from $0.28 to $0.83 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of HireQuest is 47.22, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 231.86.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of HireQuest is 47.22, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Business Services sector average P/E ratio of about 26.20.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

HireQuest has a P/B Ratio of 1.84. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.23% of the float of HireQuest has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

HireQuest has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 23.4, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in HireQuest has recently increased by 0.29%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

HireQuest pays a meaningful dividend of 2.76%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

HireQuest does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of HireQuest is 133.33%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, HireQuest will have a dividend payout ratio of 28.92% next year. This indicates that HireQuest will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.23% of the float of HireQuest has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

HireQuest has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 23.4, which indicates bearish sentiment.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in HireQuest has recently increased by 0.29%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.84

News Sentiment

HireQuest has a news sentiment score of 0.84. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.66 average news sentiment score of Business Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for HireQuest this week, compared to 1 article on an average week.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added HireQuest to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, HireQuest insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

43.50% of the stock of HireQuest is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

Only 12.00% of the stock of HireQuest is held by institutions.

HQI Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have HQI shares performed this year?

HireQuest's stock was trading at $14.16 at the beginning of the year. Since then, HQI stock has decreased by 40.0% and is now trading at $8.50.

How were HireQuest's earnings last quarter?

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August, 7th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.04. The firm earned $7.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 million. HireQuest had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 7.47%.
Read the conference call transcript.

How do I buy shares of HireQuest?

Shares of HQI stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of HireQuest own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that HireQuest investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Netflix (NFLX), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Tesla (TSLA) and Broadcom (AVGO).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/07/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/15 Dividend: 8/29/2025
• Record date for 9/15 Dividend: 9/01/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/15/2025
• Today: 10/17/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 11/06/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Business Services
• Industry: Staffing
• Sub-Industry: Business Services
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:HQI
• CIK: 1140102
• Web: www.hirequest.com
• Phone: (843) 723-7400
• Fax: 208-773-7467
• Employees: 65,000
• Year Founded: 2002

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for HireQuest: $13.00
• High Price Target: $13.00
• Low Price Target: $13.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +52.9%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 2 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $0.18
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 47.22
• Forward P/E Ratio: 30.36
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $3.67 million
• Net Margins: 7.47%
• Pretax Margin: 6.79%
• Return on Equity: 13.88%
• Return on Assets: 9.35%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 2.23
• Quick Ratio: 2.23

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $34.60 million
• Price / Sales: 3.46
• Cash Flow: $1.31 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 6.49
• Book Value: $4.63 per share
• Price / Book: 1.84

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 14,100,000
• Free Float: 7,967,000
• Market Cap: $119.85 million
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 1.22