Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.23 Per Share

Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.225 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Hillenbrand’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Hillenbrand has increased its dividend payment by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 17 years. Hillenbrand has a payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Hillenbrand to earn $3.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.9%.

Hillenbrand Stock Performance

HI traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $33.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 369,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,041. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.02 and a beta of 1.43. Hillenbrand has a 12 month low of $25.11 and a 12 month high of $50.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Hillenbrand from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hillenbrand from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Hillenbrand in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hillenbrand has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.67.

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.