HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.32 and traded as high as $18.02. HireQuest shares last traded at $17.59, with a volume of 12,657 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research set a $19.00 price objective on shares of HireQuest in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised HireQuest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HireQuest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on HireQuest from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

HireQuest Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.50. The company has a market cap of $244.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86 and a beta of 1.26.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 million. HireQuest had a net margin of 27.06% and a return on equity of 16.35%. On average, analysts expect that HireQuest, Inc. will post 0.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HireQuest Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. HireQuest’s payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Institutional Trading of HireQuest

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of HireQuest during the second quarter worth $68,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in HireQuest in the second quarter worth about $126,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in HireQuest during the second quarter valued at $157,000. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HireQuest in the second quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, RMR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 12.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc (NASDAQ: HQI) is a franchisor of staffing and workforce-solutions businesses. Through its network of independently owned and operated offices, the company supports the placement of temporary and permanent employees across a range of industries, including construction, light industrial, manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, office services and healthcare.

HireQuest’s brands include HireQuest, HireQuest Direct and Snelling, among others. Its staffing offices typically recruit, screen and place workers with client companies, while providing services such as payroll administration, workforce coordination and other employment-related support.