MQS Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 712 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand during the second quarter worth approximately $90,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the second quarter worth $93,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Hillenbrand from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Hillenbrand from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $54.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of HI stock opened at $27.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 1.39. Hillenbrand, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.49 and a 12 month high of $50.58.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 14.89% and a negative net margin of 6.67%. The business had revenue of $786.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $818.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hillenbrand, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.55%.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

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.