Azarias Capital Management L.P. Sells 76,003 Shares of Hooker Furnishings Corp. $HOFT

Azarias Capital Management L.P. reduced its position in shares of Hooker Furnishings Corp. (NASDAQ:HOFT) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 397,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,003 shares during the period. Hooker Furnishings comprises about 2.3% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Azarias Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Hooker Furnishings were worth $5,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Hooker Furnishings by 7.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the 1st quarter valued at about $146,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the 1st quarter valued at about $124,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the second quarter valued at about $495,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hooker Furnishings in the second quarter valued at about $202,000. 73.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on HOFT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Hooker Furnishings from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hooker Furnishings from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Hooker Furnishings from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Hooker Furnishings Stock Performance

HOFT stock opened at $15.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.69 million, a PE ratio of -7.35, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.20. Hooker Furnishings Corp. has a 1-year low of $8.61 and a 1-year high of $16.41. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.87.

Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.17. Hooker Furnishings had a positive return on equity of 1.61% and a negative net margin of 7.90%.The business had revenue of $69.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.31 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hooker Furnishings Corp. will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hooker Furnishings Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 19th will be given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hooker Furnishings’s dividend payout ratio is presently -21.40%.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings, formerly known as Hooker Furniture Corporation, is a designer, marketer and distributor of high-quality home furnishings. Headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia, the company offers a broad range of wood and upholstered furniture products across bedroom, dining, home office and accent categories. Its portfolio includes solid wood and engineered wood case goods, upholstered seating, accent tables and decorative accessories, reflecting styles that range from traditional to contemporary.

The company’s operations are organized into three reportable segments: Domestic Wholesale, Retail and Logistics, and International.