Creative Planning Takes $454,000 Position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HNI. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the second quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of HNI by 51.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the third quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HNI during the second quarter valued at $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Trading Up 6.0 %

NYSE:HNI opened at $54.49 on Thursday. HNI Co. has a 1-year low of $37.38 and a 1-year high of $56.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.85.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. HNI had a return on equity of 19.29% and a net margin of 4.83%. The company had revenue of $672.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that HNI Co. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HNI. Benchmark increased their target price on HNI from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HNI news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $123,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at $642,708. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 2,284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $123,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $642,708. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey D. Lorenger sold 72,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $3,556,070.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 296,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,642,713.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,582 shares of company stock worth $5,597,281 over the last ninety days. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.