Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI) Receives $32.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

HI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Hillenbrand from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Monday. Finally, CJS Securities reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Thursday, October 16th.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of HI stock opened at $31.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Hillenbrand has a 52-week low of $18.36 and a 52-week high of $35.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 52.03 and a beta of 1.38.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.21. Hillenbrand had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $652.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $592.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hillenbrand will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a $0.2275 dividend. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. Hillenbrand’s payout ratio is currently 149.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HI. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 12,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Hillenbrand by 61.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 93,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 35,745 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Hillenbrand during the first quarter worth $350,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Hillenbrand by 37.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hillenbrand by 154.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 18,863 shares during the last quarter. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand, Inc, headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, is a global industrial company specializing in engineered equipment and process solutions. Through its Coperion division, Hillenbrand designs and manufactures compounding and extrusion systems, polymer and food processing equipment, bulk material handling technologies and associated automation. These offerings support a variety of end markets, including plastics, chemicals, food, pharmaceutical and minerals, helping customers optimize production efficiency and product quality.

Tracing its roots to the Batesville Casket Company founded in 1906, the organization evolved through strategic acquisitions and expanded its focus on process technologies.