Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HI. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Hillenbrand Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HI opened at $31.02 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.27. Hillenbrand has a 1-year low of $25.11 and a 1-year high of $50.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.37 and a beta of 1.43.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.08. Hillenbrand had a negative net margin of 6.63% and a positive return on equity of 14.86%. The firm had revenue of $837.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $793.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Hillenbrand’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Hillenbrand will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Hillenbrand’s payout ratio is -30.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HI. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Hillenbrand during the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,178,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 4.5% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,602,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,565,000 after acquiring an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Hillenbrand by 17.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 318,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,841,000 after purchasing an additional 48,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Hillenbrand in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.