Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on HVT. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Haverty Furniture Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Haverty Furniture Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Haverty Furniture Companies stock opened at $23.14 on Friday. Haverty Furniture Companies has a fifty-two week low of $17.01 and a fifty-two week high of $27.67. The company has a market capitalization of $376.49 million, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.43 and a 200 day moving average of $23.58.

Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $201.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.47 million. Haverty Furniture Companies had a return on equity of 6.45% and a net margin of 2.60%. Analysts forecast that Haverty Furniture Companies will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Haverty Furniture Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Haverty Furniture Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 112.82%.

Insider Activity at Haverty Furniture Companies

In related news, Director Rawson Haverty, Jr. sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.86, for a total value of $186,450.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Haverty Furniture Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies in the 4th quarter worth $338,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Haverty Furniture Companies by 130.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 48,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 27,280 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Haverty Furniture Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,186,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Haverty Furniture Companies by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 17,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 4,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Haverty Furniture Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

About Haverty Furniture Companies

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and home décor in the United States. Founded in 1885 by J.J. Haverty and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad assortment of upholstered furniture, case goods, mattresses, area rugs and decorative accessories. Customers can shop through a network of company-owned showrooms as well as an e-commerce platform, supported by in-house design services, delivery options and consumer financing programs.

Over more than a century of operation, Havertys has expanded its presence primarily across the Southeast and select markets beyond.