HNI (NYSE:HNI) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

HNI Stock Down 4.9 %

NYSE:HNI traded down $2.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.72. The stock had a trading volume of 521,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,198. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.99. HNI has a 1-year low of $40.94 and a 1-year high of $58.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The business had revenue of $642.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.03 million. Analysts predict that HNI will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HNI

In other HNI news, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total transaction of $113,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,880 shares in the company, valued at $2,157,266. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total transaction of $27,744.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HNI. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in HNI during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of HNI by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in HNI by 219.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in HNI by 649.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in HNI during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 75.26% of the stock is currently 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.