Short Interest in HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) Expands By 17.6%

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 157,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 133,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 15,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.3 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of HireQuest

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in HireQuest by 288.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in HireQuest by 233.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in HireQuest by 16.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HireQuest during the fourth quarter valued at about $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

HireQuest Price Performance

NASDAQ HQI traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.35. 62,796 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,502. HireQuest has a 12-month low of $11.39 and a 12-month high of $15.75. The firm has a market cap of $186.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.99.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. HireQuest’s payout ratio is 218.18%.

HireQuest Company Profile

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.