Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Acquires New Shares in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,087 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of HNI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $876,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of HNI by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,876,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,033,000 after purchasing an additional 20,717 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in HNI by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,718,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $288,016,000 after buying an additional 62,476 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of HNI by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 250,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,716 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in HNI by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 136,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,372,000 after purchasing an additional 48,237 shares in the last quarter. 75.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

HNI Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HNI opened at $43.25 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.78. HNI Co. has a twelve month low of $39.76 and a twelve month high of $58.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $642.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $657.03 million. HNI had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 18.27%. On average, equities analysts predict that HNI Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. HNI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.67%.

Insider Activity

In other HNI news, insider Brian Scott Smith sold 556 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.90, for a total value of $27,744.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $718,260.60. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.37% of the company’s stock.

About HNI

HNI Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, and marketing of workplace furnishings and residential building products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Workplace Furnishings and Residential Building Products. The Workplace Furnishings segment offers a range of commercial and home office furniture, including panel-based and freestanding furniture systems, seating, storage, benching, tables, architectural products, and ancillary and hospitality products, as well as social collaborative items under the HON, Allsteel, Beyond, Gunlocke, HBF, HBF Textiles, HNI India, Kimball, National, Etc., Interwoven, David Edward, Kimball Hospitality, and D'style brands.