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

Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,750,309 shares, a drop of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 2,210,537 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 843,057 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 843,057 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Hillenbrand

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 203.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Hillenbrand by 74.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Hillenbrand by 29.0% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Hillenbrand by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 622.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 3,213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Hillenbrand from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hillenbrand in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CJS Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Hillenbrand Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HI traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.82. 622,145 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 641,449. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.16 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Hillenbrand has a one year low of $18.36 and a one year high of $35.59.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.21. Hillenbrand had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 1.61%.The company had revenue of $652.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $592.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. Hillenbrand’s revenue was down 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Hillenbrand will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

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

Hillenbrand Company Profile

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.