StockNews.com Downgrades Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Hooker Furnishings Stock Down 0.8 %

Hooker Furnishings stock opened at $13.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.52 million, a PE ratio of -14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.92 and its 200-day moving average is $15.67. Hooker Furnishings has a fifty-two week low of $12.06 and a fifty-two week high of $25.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.22). Hooker Furnishings had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a negative return on equity of 3.51%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hooker Furnishings will post -0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hooker Furnishings Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.01%. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -101.10%.

Insider Activity at Hooker Furnishings

In related news, Director Paulette Garafalo sold 2,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.10, for a total value of $42,561.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,389.30. This represents a 10.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hooker Furnishings

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HOFT. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 20,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 7,422 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Hooker Furnishings in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hooker Furnishings in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,286,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,258,000 after purchasing an additional 13,524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.63% of the company’s stock.

Hooker Furnishings Company Profile

Hooker Furnishings Corporation designs, manufactures, imports, and markets residential household, hospitality, and contract furniture. It operates in three segments: Hooker Branded, Home Meridian, and Domestic Upholstery. The Hooker Branded segment offers design categories, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture under the Hooker Furniture brand; and imported upholstered furniture under the Hooker Upholstery brand.