HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,540 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,865 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in HNI were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in HNI by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 34,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 6,497 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HNI by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,016,000 after purchasing an additional 62,476 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HNI by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,602,000 after purchasing an additional 11,716 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in HNI by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 628,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,646,000 after purchasing an additional 105,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in HNI by 206.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 26,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 17,631 shares during the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HNI Trading Down 1.8%

HNI stock opened at $45.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. HNI Co. has a 52-week low of $39.76 and a 52-week high of $58.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.91.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.09. HNI had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The business had revenue of $599.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a positive change from HNI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. HNI’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HNI from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Longbow Research assumed coverage on shares of HNI in a report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of HNI in a report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock.

About HNI

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.