Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HI. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

Shares of HI stock opened at $29.63 on Tuesday. Hillenbrand has a fifty-two week low of $25.11 and a fifty-two week high of $50.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.91 and a beta of 1.43.

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 13th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $837.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $793.38 million. Hillenbrand had a positive return on equity of 14.86% and a negative net margin of 6.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hillenbrand will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hillenbrand

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Hillenbrand during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hillenbrand during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Hillenbrand by 32.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hillenbrand in the third quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Hillenbrand during the second quarter worth $90,000. 89.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hillenbrand Company Profile

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.