HNI (NYSE:HNI) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

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

HNI Stock Performance

HNI stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.56. 168,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 249,896. HNI has a 12 month low of $32.70 and a 12 month high of $56.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.85.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.18. HNI had a return on equity of 19.15% and a net margin of 4.39%. The company had revenue of $623.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $637.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that HNI will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HNI

In other news, VP Steven M. Bradford sold 2,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total transaction of $114,311.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 61,642 shares in the company, valued at $2,960,665.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Steven M. Bradford sold 2,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $114,311.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 61,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,960,665.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Marshall H. Bridges sold 4,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $221,383.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 78,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,191,511. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,029 shares of company stock worth $6,766,593. 3.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HNI

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HNI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HNI by 5.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,566,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $251,208,000 after buying an additional 287,735 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of HNI by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,625,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,180,000 after purchasing an additional 9,901 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of HNI by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 565,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,437,000 after purchasing an additional 17,151 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the 4th quarter worth about $13,368,000. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in HNI by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 291,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,125,000 after buying an additional 37,155 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.