Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HNI Co. (NYSE:HNI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of HNI by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of HNI in the 4th quarter valued at $1,347,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HNI by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,276,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $182,728,000 after buying an additional 36,988 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of HNI in the 3rd quarter valued at $947,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HNI by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 800,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,705,000 after buying an additional 30,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded HNI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th.

HNI Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HNI opened at $42.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.73. HNI Co. has a 1-year low of $24.81 and a 1-year high of $45.47. The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86.

HNI (NYSE:HNI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.18. HNI had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $679.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. HNI’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that HNI Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HNI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. HNI’s payout ratio is currently 125.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vincent P. Berger sold 9,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total value of $429,067.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,882,745.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Vincent P. Berger sold 9,976 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total value of $429,067.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,882,745.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry B. Porcellato sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,592. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,374 shares of company stock worth $749,534. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HNI Profile

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.