Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Haverty Furniture Companies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Haverty Furniture Companies currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Down 1.4%

Haverty Furniture Companies stock opened at $23.31 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.18 and a 200-day moving average of $22.21. Haverty Furniture Companies has a 52-week low of $17.01 and a 52-week high of $25.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.25 million, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.27.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Haverty Furniture Companies had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 6.34%. The business had revenue of $194.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.12 million. On average, research analysts expect that Haverty Furniture Companies will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Haverty Furniture Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Haverty Furniture Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 115.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rawson Haverty, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of Haverty Furniture Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.86, for a total value of $186,450.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 14,354 shares of company stock valued at $345,898 in the last three months. 8.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HVT. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Haverty Furniture Companies in the second quarter worth $58,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Haverty Furniture Companies by 7.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 146.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 5,465 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

Haverty Furniture Companies Company Profile

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and home décor in the United States. Founded in 1885 by J.J. Haverty and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad assortment of upholstered furniture, case goods, mattresses, area rugs and decorative accessories. Customers can shop through a network of company-owned showrooms as well as an e-commerce platform, supported by in-house design services, delivery options and consumer financing programs.

Over more than a century of operation, Havertys has expanded its presence primarily across the Southeast and select markets beyond.