Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 250,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,716 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.52% of HNI worth $12,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in HNI during the 4th quarter worth about $876,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in HNI by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,876,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,033,000 after purchasing an additional 20,717 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in HNI by 54.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 136,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,372,000 after purchasing an additional 48,237 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in HNI in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,245,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in HNI by 4,746.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HNI

In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,260.60. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.95, for a total value of $113,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,157,266. This represents a 5.02 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Stock Performance

Shares of HNI stock opened at $46.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.10. HNI Co. has a 1 year low of $40.94 and a 1 year high of $58.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.14 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $642.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.03 million. HNI had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 5.52%. Analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. HNI’s payout ratio is 45.67%.

HNI 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.