Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSET) Short Interest Down 37.5% in February

Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSET) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 188,894 shares, a drop of 37.5% from the February 12th total of 302,326 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,507 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,507 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.4 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BSET. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Bassett Furniture Industries in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Bassett Furniture Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Bassett Furniture Industries from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bassett Furniture Industries has an average rating of “Hold”.

Bassett Furniture Industries Stock Performance

Shares of BSET stock opened at $14.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.98. Bassett Furniture Industries has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.78.

Bassett Furniture Industries (NASDAQ:BSET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.07). Bassett Furniture Industries had a net margin of 1.82% and a return on equity of 3.91%. The company had revenue of $88.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.90 million. Analysts forecast that Bassett Furniture Industries will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Bassett Furniture Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Bassett Furniture Industries’s dividend payout ratio is 114.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BSET. Aegis Financial Corp increased its holdings in Bassett Furniture Industries by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 501,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,399,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Bassett Furniture Industries by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 195,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 119,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,558 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 91,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 8,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bassett Furniture Industries by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 50,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.40% of the company’s stock.

Bassett Furniture Industries Company Profile

Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: BSET), headquartered in Bassett, Virginia, is a vertically integrated manufacturer and retailer of residential home furnishings. The company designs, produces and markets a range of furniture items, including upholstered seating, wood case goods, bedroom collections, dining room sets and home décor accessories. Bassett is known for its emphasis on craftsmanship, offering both ready-to-assemble pieces and made-to-order products that cater to varying design preferences and space requirements.

Bassett’s products are sold through a dual-channel distribution network comprising company-owned Bassett Home Furnishings stores, a franchise and independent dealer network, and an e-commerce platform that provides online shopping, virtual design consultations and customization tools.