Is There Now An Opportunity In HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI)?

HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI), might not be a large cap stock, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the NYSE over the last few months. With many analysts covering the stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. But what if there is still an opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at HNI’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for HNI

Is HNI Still Cheap?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 21.53x is currently trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 25.19x, which means if you buy HNI today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe that HNI should be trading at this level in the long run, then there’s not much of an upside to gain over and above other industry peers. Furthermore, HNI’s share price also seems relatively stable compared to the rest of the market, as indicated by its low beta. This may mean it is less likely for the stock to fall lower from natural market volatility, which suggests less opportunities to buy moving forward.

What does the future of HNI look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company's future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 24% over the next year, the near-term future seems bright for HNI. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in HNI’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the financial strength of the company. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at HNI? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on HNI, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for HNI, which means it’s worth further examining other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. For example - HNI has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in HNI, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.