Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on HI. DA Davidson lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $54.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an overweight rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $48.00.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Hillenbrand stock opened at $28.94 on Friday. Hillenbrand has a 1-year low of $28.91 and a 1-year high of $50.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.95 and its 200 day moving average is $43.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 14.89% and a negative net margin of 6.67%. The firm had revenue of $786.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hillenbrand will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 58.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand during the second quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hillenbrand by 15.0% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.09% of the company’s stock.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.