Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. (NYSE:HVT) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.98 and traded as high as $25.01. Haverty Furniture Companies shares last traded at $24.3530, with a volume of 209,095 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Haverty Furniture Companies from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Haverty Furniture Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Haverty Furniture Companies Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.00. The company has a market capitalization of $396.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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 firm had revenue of $194.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.12 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Haverty Furniture Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Haverty Furniture Companies’s payout ratio is 115.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rawson Haverty, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 14,354 shares of company stock valued at $345,898 in the last quarter. 8.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Haverty Furniture Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HVT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Haverty Furniture Companies by 1,929.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Haverty Furniture Companies by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Haverty Furniture Companies by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 5,465 shares during the period. 80.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Haverty Furniture Companies

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.