Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $30.17, but opened at $33.62. Hillenbrand shares last traded at $34.61, with a volume of 98,958 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Hillenbrand from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hillenbrand currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.95 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.24.

Hillenbrand Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.2225 dividend. This is an increase from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Hillenbrand’s payout ratio is currently -29.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hillenbrand

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 4.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 138,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,958,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hillenbrand by 9.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 30.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 25,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 5,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hillenbrand by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,702,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,645,000 after buying an additional 290,275 shares in the last quarter. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.