HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 157,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 133,500 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.3 days.

HireQuest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HQI traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 256 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,465. HireQuest has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $15.75. The firm has a market cap of $189.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.59 and a 200-day moving average of $13.98.

HireQuest Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. HireQuest’s payout ratio is 218.18%.

Institutional Trading of HireQuest

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of HireQuest by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of HireQuest by 288.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in HireQuest by 233.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in HireQuest by 16.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HireQuest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.00% of the company’s stock.

HireQuest Company Profile

HireQuest, Inc provides temporary staffing services in the United States. It offers staffing services, including direct-dispatch, executive search, consultant, unskilled and semi-skilled industrial and construction personnel, clerical and administrative personnel, and permanent placement services, as well as commercial and non-CDL drivers, and skilled personnel in the medical and dental industries.