Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) Short Interest Up 8.9% in August

Hooker Furnishings Co. (NASDAQ:HOFT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 160,700 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the July 31st total of 147,600 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Hooker Furnishings Trading Down 3.3 %

HOFT stock opened at $15.31 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.90. Hooker Furnishings has a twelve month low of $13.09 and a twelve month high of $27.15. The stock has a market cap of $163.54 million, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.20.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $93.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.94 million. Hooker Furnishings had a net margin of 1.07% and a return on equity of 1.92%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hooker Furnishings will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Tonya Harris Jackson bought 1,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.61 per share, for a total transaction of $25,178.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 25,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $343,366.69. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the second quarter valued at approximately $190,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Hooker Furnishings by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 204,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,963,000 after purchasing an additional 31,261 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hooker Furnishings by 15.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 95.1% in the second quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 70,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 34,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings during the second quarter worth about $1,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.63% of the company’s stock.

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.