HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Stock Price Down 6.2% – What’s Next?

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) dropped 6.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $10.50 and last traded at $10.50. Approximately 13,955 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 14,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HQI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of HireQuest in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson set a $15.00 target price on shares of HireQuest in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HireQuest from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of HireQuest to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.00.

HireQuest Trading Down 6.2%

The firm has a market cap of $148.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.08 and a 200-day moving average of $9.79.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. HireQuest’s payout ratio is 48.00%.

HireQuest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 18.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at HireQuest

In other news, CEO Richard Hermanns acquired 9,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.28 per share, with a total value of $99,757.12. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,951,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,339,189.24. The trade was a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 28,980 shares of company stock valued at $276,165. 43.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of HireQuest by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of HireQuest during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of HireQuest by 158.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 6,702 shares during the period. GWN Securities Inc. grew its holdings in HireQuest by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. GWN Securities Inc. now owns 16,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in HireQuest by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,627 shares during the period. 12.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc is a publicly traded holding company that provides equipment rental and workforce solutions across North America through two primary operating subsidiaries. Its Coast Equipment Rentals division offers a broad range of support equipment—such as pumps, trench safety systems, power and HVAC units, air compressors, light towers and generators—to the construction, industrial, municipal and environmental markets. Coast Equipment Rentals operates more than 135 branch locations in 36 U.S.