HNI Corporation $HNI Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) by 24.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,136,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 362,713 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in HNI were worth $51,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in HNI by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 5,921 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in HNI by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 36,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in HNI by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in HNI by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 7,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. bought a new position in HNI during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HNI

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Lorenger sold 39,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.09, for a total value of $1,982,361.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 148,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,437,864.10. This represents a 21.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,288 shares of company stock worth $2,468,419. 2.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HNI Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE HNI opened at $48.27 on Friday. HNI Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.93 and a 12 month high of $52.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.32 and a 200-day moving average of $42.06. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.94.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The business services provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.23. HNI had a net margin of 1.00% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 132.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HNI Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. HNI’s payout ratio is currently 318.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HNI. Wall Street Zen raised HNI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded HNI from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.00.

About HNI

HNI Corporation is a workplace furnishings and residential building products company. Its workplace furnishings business designs and manufactures office furniture and related products for businesses, government organizations, educational institutions and other customers. Its portfolio includes brands such as HON, Allsteel and Gunlocke, with products ranging from office seating and desks to workstations and storage. HNI also makes fireplaces, stoves and related hearth products through brands including Heat & Glo, Heatilator, Majestic, Harman and Quadra-Fire.