HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Trading Down 2.5% – Time to Sell?

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI)’s share price was down 2.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.61 and last traded at $12.63. 6,125 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 17,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of HireQuest from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings raised HireQuest from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of HireQuest in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HireQuest currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

HireQuest Trading Down 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $175.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.65 and its 200 day moving average is $11.46.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. HireQuest had a net margin of 21.98% and a return on equity of 14.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. HireQuest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HireQuest

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in HireQuest by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in HireQuest in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of HireQuest by 158.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of HireQuest by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 20.3% during the first quarter. RMR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

HireQuest Company Profile

HireQuest, Inc is a publicly traded holding company that provides equipment rental and workforce solutions across North America through two primary operating subsidiaries. Its Coast Equipment Rentals division offers a broad range of support equipment—such as pumps, trench safety systems, power and HVAC units, air compressors, light towers and generators—to the construction, industrial, municipal and environmental markets. Coast Equipment Rentals operates more than 135 branch locations in 36 U.S.