Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI) Short Interest Down 20.8% in December

by · The Markets Daily

Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HIGet Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,750,309 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 2,210,537 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 843,057 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 843,057 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Hillenbrand by 37.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hillenbrand by 154.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 18,863 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Hillenbrand by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 622.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 3,213 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 188,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,559,000 after purchasing an additional 8,081 shares during the last quarter. 89.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hillenbrand from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CJS Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Hillenbrand presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE HI traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $31.85. 665,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,333. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Hillenbrand has a twelve month low of $18.36 and a twelve month high of $35.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.20 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.70.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HIGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.21. Hillenbrand had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $652.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $592.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Hillenbrand will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.2275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 149.18%.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

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Hillenbrand, Inc, headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, is a global industrial company specializing in engineered equipment and process solutions. Through its Coperion division, Hillenbrand designs and manufactures compounding and extrusion systems, polymer and food processing equipment, bulk material handling technologies and associated automation. These offerings support a variety of end markets, including plastics, chemicals, food, pharmaceutical and minerals, helping customers optimize production efficiency and product quality.

Tracing its roots to the Batesville Casket Company founded in 1906, the organization evolved through strategic acquisitions and expanded its focus on process technologies.

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