Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 161,800 shares, a drop of 6.7% from the November 15th total of 173,400 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 23,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Hooker Furnishings from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Hooker Furnishings Stock Performance

Shares of HOFT opened at $16.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.79 million, a PE ratio of -18.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.06. Hooker Furnishings has a 52-week low of $13.09 and a 52-week high of $27.15.

Hooker Furnishings Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio is presently -101.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hooker Furnishings

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Azarias Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Hooker Furnishings by 23.8% during the second quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 624,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,042,000 after purchasing an additional 120,219 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hooker Furnishings by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 241,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 204,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,963,000 after buying an additional 31,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 172,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the last quarter. 73.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hooker Furnishings

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.