HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) Short Interest Update

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 144,200 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the November 15th total of 136,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 15,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.5 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of HireQuest from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

HireQuest Stock Performance

NASDAQ HQI traded down $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $14.71. The company had a trading volume of 20,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,575. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average is $13.63. HireQuest has a 1-year low of $11.39 and a 1-year high of $17.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.64 and a beta of 1.04.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 218.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in HireQuest by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 267,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in HireQuest by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 131,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 5,007 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in HireQuest by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 90,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in HireQuest by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HireQuest in the 3rd quarter worth $147,000. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.