Short Interest in HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) Declines By 29.3%

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,252,722 shares, a drop of 29.3% from the January 15th total of 1,770,854 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 482,954 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 482,954 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HNI has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of HNI in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded HNI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HNI currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HNI

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in HNI by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of HNI by 0.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 134,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,601,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of HNI in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HNI by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in HNI by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

HNI Price Performance

Shares of HNI traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.08. The company had a trading volume of 713,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,792. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.94. HNI has a twelve month low of $38.03 and a twelve month high of $53.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.36 and its 200-day moving average is $44.33.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, founded in 1944 as the Heating & Novelty Company and headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, is a leading manufacturer of office furniture and hearth products. Over its history, the company has evolved from producing gas heaters into two primary business segments: Office Furniture and Hearth & Home. HNI’s Office Furniture division operates under well-known brands such as The HON Company, Allsteel, Gunlocke and Kimball, offering a comprehensive portfolio of workstations, seating, tables, storage solutions and acoustic products tailored for corporate, education, healthcare and government markets.

In its Hearth & Home segment, HNI designs, manufactures and distributes fireplaces, stoves, fireplace inserts, logs and related accessories.