HNI (NYSE:HNI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

HNI (NYSE:HNI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Benchmark raised their target price on HNI from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

HNI Stock Performance

HNI traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.51. 563,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,458. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.90. HNI has a 12 month low of $27.92 and a 12 month high of $54.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $623.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $637.74 million. HNI had a return on equity of 17.75% and a net margin of 2.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HNI will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $82,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,798,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 1,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $82,616.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,798,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $96,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,197.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,966 shares of company stock valued at $1,685,119. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $134,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in HNI in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in HNI in the 4th quarter worth about $216,000. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.