Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Short Interest Up 24.6% in February

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 303,800 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the February 13th total of 243,800 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 53,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings during the fourth quarter worth $1,893,000. Azarias Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 754,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,568,000 after buying an additional 70,281 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hooker Furnishings by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 113,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,596,000 after buying an additional 55,629 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,335,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,712,000 after purchasing an additional 49,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Hooker Furnishings by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 43,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 22,635 shares during the period. 73.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Hooker Furnishings from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Hooker Furnishings Price Performance

Shares of HOFT stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.54. The stock had a trading volume of 79,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.16. Hooker Furnishings has a one year low of $11.60 and a one year high of $24.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.35.

Hooker Furnishings Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.97%. Hooker Furnishings’s payout ratio is currently -101.10%.

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.