Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Short Interest Down 9.8% in May

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 101,700 shares, a drop of 9.8% from the May 15th total of 112,800 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 34,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Hooker Furnishings from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Hooker Furnishings Stock Performance

HOFT stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.51. 42,567 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,765. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.68. Hooker Furnishings has a 52 week low of $13.50 and a 52 week high of $27.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.12.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.36). Hooker Furnishings had a return on equity of 1.92% and a net margin of 1.07%. The company had revenue of $93.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.94 million. Research analysts forecast that Hooker Furnishings will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hooker Furnishings Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.81%. Hooker Furnishings’s payout ratio is presently 235.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hooker Furnishings in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 507,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,243,000 after buying an additional 10,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. 73.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.