Short Interest in Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Decreases By 8.2%

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

Hillenbrand Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Hillenbrand stock traded down $0.34 on Tuesday, hitting $46.97. The company had a trading volume of 268,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,488. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 1.49. 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 50 day moving average of $47.76 and a 200-day moving average of $44.30.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $773.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.40 million. Hillenbrand had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 14.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hillenbrand will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Hillenbrand Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.222 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Hillenbrand’s payout ratio is 11.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Hillenbrand from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. CL King initiated coverage on Hillenbrand in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Hillenbrand

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hillenbrand

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Hillenbrand by 94.4% in the 1st 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 period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Hillenbrand during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hillenbrand in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.09% of the company’s stock.

About Hillenbrand

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.