StockNews.com Upgrades HNI (NYSE:HNI) to “Strong-Buy”

HNI (NYSE:HNI) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of HNI from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

HNI Stock Performance

NYSE:HNI opened at $49.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.09. HNI has a 52-week low of $36.72 and a 52-week high of $56.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.50 and its 200-day moving average is $48.58.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $672.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.75 million. HNI had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 19.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that HNI will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at HNI

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $123,336.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,708. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Miguel M. Calado sold 5,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.96, for a total value of $280,635.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,650,180.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $123,336.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at $642,708. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 110,582 shares of company stock worth $5,597,281 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in HNI in the first quarter worth $245,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of HNI by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 35,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 16,646 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in HNI by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 89,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,047,000 after buying an additional 9,329 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in HNI during the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in HNI by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 40,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,840,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HNI Company Profile

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.