Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Short Interest Update

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 163,900 shares, a decrease of 12.9% from the December 15th total of 188,100 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 33,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hooker Furnishings from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insider Transactions at Hooker Furnishings

In related news, Director Paulette Garafalo sold 2,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total transaction of $42,561.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $355,389.30. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hooker Furnishings

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 270.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 11,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,966 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.63% of the company’s stock.

Hooker Furnishings Price Performance

HOFT traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.25. 19,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,181. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.90. Hooker Furnishings has a 12-month low of $12.74 and a 12-month high of $25.80. The company has a market cap of $141.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.56 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hooker Furnishings Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. Hooker Furnishings’s payout ratio is currently -101.10%.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings Corporation designs, manufactures, imports, and markets residential household, hospitality, and contract furniture. It operates in three segments: Hooker Branded, Home Meridian, and Domestic Upholstery. The Hooker Branded segment offers design categories, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture under the Hooker Furniture brand; and imported upholstered furniture under the Hooker Upholstery brand.