Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Short Interest Update

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, a drop of 8.2% from the March 15th total of 1,590,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 294,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Insider Activity at Hillenbrand

In other news, CEO Kimberly K. Ryan bought 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.94 per share, for a total transaction of $251,664.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,004,163.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hillenbrand news, CFO Robert M. Vanhimbergen purchased 11,319 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $45.23 per share, for a total transaction of $511,958.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,563,103.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kimberly K. Ryan acquired 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.94 per share, with a total value of $251,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,004,163.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Hillenbrand by 94.4% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 793 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in Hillenbrand in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Hillenbrand in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. CL King initiated coverage on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. TheStreet cut shares of Hillenbrand from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th.

Hillenbrand Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HI traded down $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.97. The stock had a trading volume of 268,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,488. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.28. Hillenbrand has a 1-year low of $37.19 and a 1-year high of $53.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.30.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. Hillenbrand had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $773.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $776.40 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hillenbrand will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.222 dividend. This represents a $0.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.53%.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

Hillenbrand, Inc operates as an industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Process Solutions and Molding Technology Solutions. The Advanced Process Solutions segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems comprising compounding, extrusion, and material handling equipment, equipment system design services, as well as offers mixing technology, ingredient automation, and portion process; and provides screening and separating equipment for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.