Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the March 31st total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 294,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Hillenbrand Price Performance

HI stock opened at $41.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.78. Hillenbrand has a twelve month low of $37.19 and a twelve month high of $53.76.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $785.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $801.55 million. Hillenbrand had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 14.73%. Hillenbrand’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hillenbrand will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Hillenbrand Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.222 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Hillenbrand’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.55%.

Insider Activity at Hillenbrand

In related news, CEO Kimberly K. Ryan bought 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $44.94 per share, for a total transaction of $251,664.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 133,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,004,163.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Nicholas R. Farrell sold 8,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.02, for a total value of $401,644.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 41,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,972,536.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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, with a total value of $251,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,004,163.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hillenbrand

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HI. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in Hillenbrand in the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 89.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.