HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Trading Up 2.2%

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI)’s stock price was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.75 and last traded at $17.43. Approximately 42,234 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 54% from the average daily volume of 27,348 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HQI shares. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on HireQuest from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. TheStreet downgraded HireQuest from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd.

HireQuest Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.85. The stock has a market cap of $242.28 million, a P/E ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.07.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.11). HireQuest had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 32.00%. The company had revenue of $8.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.34 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack A. Olmstead purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.11 per share, with a total value of $201,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 41,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,738.77. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HireQuest news, Director Jack A. Olmstead acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.11 per share, for a total transaction of $201,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $840,738.77. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Hermanns acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $72,720.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,338,929 shares in the company, valued at $60,701,729.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 45.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HireQuest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HQI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in HireQuest by 2.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 30,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in HireQuest by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 183,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HireQuest by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in HireQuest in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in HireQuest by 52.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. 11.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing solutions in the United States. It offers staffing services, including skilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services. The company also specializes in commercial and non-CDL drivers.