Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HOFT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hooker Furnishings from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Hooker Furnishings in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hooker Furnishings currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Hooker Furnishings Stock Performance

Shares of Hooker Furnishings stock opened at $13.66 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Hooker Furnishings has a 12 month low of $7.34 and a 12 month high of $15.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.25 million, a P/E ratio of -4.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.35.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $70.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.50 million. Hooker Furnishings had a negative return on equity of 1.07% and a negative net margin of 8.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hooker Furnishings will post -0.44 EPS for the current year.

Hooker Furnishings Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 21st were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 19th. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hooker Furnishings

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Hooker Furnishings in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,619,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the second quarter worth $2,807,000. Gate City Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the fourth quarter worth $2,472,000. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 473,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,803,000 after acquiring an additional 118,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the second quarter valued at about $1,169,000. Institutional investors own 73.60% of the company’s stock.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings, formerly known as Hooker Furniture Corporation, is a designer, marketer and distributor of high-quality home furnishings. Headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia, the company offers a broad range of wood and upholstered furniture products across bedroom, dining, home office and accent categories. Its portfolio includes solid wood and engineered wood case goods, upholstered seating, accent tables and decorative accessories, reflecting styles that range from traditional to contemporary.

The company’s operations are organized into three reportable segments: Domestic Wholesale, Retail and Logistics, and International.