Short Interest in Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) Increases By 103.6%

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNNA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,431 shares, a growth of 103.6% from the April 15th total of 4,141 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,164 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Hennessy Advisors Price Performance

NASDAQ HNNA traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.92. 3,607 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,849. The company has a market cap of $78.37 million, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.90. Hennessy Advisors has a 52 week low of $8.90 and a 52 week high of $13.19.

Hennessy Advisors (NASDAQ:HNNA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The asset manager reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $8.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 million. Hennessy Advisors had a net margin of 25.40% and a return on equity of 8.53%.

Hennessy Advisors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Hennessy Advisors’s payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hennessy Advisors in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hennessy Advisors has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kathryn Fahy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,890. This represents a 14.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,192 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hennessy Advisors during the second quarter worth $190,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 6.7% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hennessy Advisors during the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hennessy Advisors by 108.5% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 26,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 13,819 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.31% of the company’s stock.

Hennessy Advisors Company Profile

Hennessy Advisors, Inc is an investment advisory firm specializing in the management of closed-end and open-end funds, as well as separate account strategies. Serving as the investment adviser to a family of publicly traded closed-end funds and a series of mutual funds, the company focuses on generating income and total return for its shareholders by deploying a range of equity and fixed-income strategies. Hennessy Advisors is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and operates under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The firm’s product lineup includes multiple closed-end funds that invest in U.S.