Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,890,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the July 31st total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 432,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Hillenbrand in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson cut Hillenbrand from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 144,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hillenbrand during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,041,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 868,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,580,000 after buying an additional 39,697 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,747,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,605,000 after buying an additional 120,782 shares in the last quarter. 89.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hillenbrand Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Hillenbrand stock opened at $32.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24 and a beta of 1.44. Hillenbrand has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $50.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.69.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $786.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.16 million. Hillenbrand had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 2.79%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hillenbrand will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.2225 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.