Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 303,800 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the February 13th total of 243,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 53,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.7 days. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Hooker Furnishings from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Institutional Trading of Hooker Furnishings

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 170,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 129,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. 73.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hooker Furnishings Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HOFT traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.60. The company had a trading volume of 50,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,384. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.91 and its 200 day moving average is $15.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.24 million, a PE ratio of -12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.16. Hooker Furnishings has a twelve month low of $11.32 and a twelve month high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 3.16.

Hooker Furnishings Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend 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.