HNI Corp (HNI) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

HNI's P/E of 439.2 is above its own 5-year median of 21.7.

P/E above the industry

HNI's P/E of 439.2 is above the Consumer discretionary median of 18.7.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

HNI's EV/EBITDA of 16.6 is above its 5-year median of 10.0.

P/B above the industry

HNI's price-to-book of 1.93 is above the Consumer discretionary median of 1.16.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $48.31 is above our fair value estimate of $24.70.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 95.6% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 6.3% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew -27.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -97.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 5.3% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 70.1% over the last twelve months; the Consumer discretionary median is -3.3%.

Guidance issued

The latest outlook (2026 Non-GAAP diluted EPS growth, Nov 3, 2026) was issued for the first time, so it neither adds nor takes away points.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 41.0% over the last twelve months, against 41.2% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 0.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 11.9% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was 2.1%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

HNI's return on equity of 0.3% is above the Consumer discretionary median of -2.2%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 5.3% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 0.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.5%.

Net margin above the industry

HNI's net margin of 0.1% is above the Consumer discretionary median of -1.1%.

High debt

Debt is 76.2% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt rising against equity

Debt to equity rose from 29.7% five years ago to 76.2%.

Debt not well covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 14.6% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Interest coverage

Interest expense is not reported separately.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.36 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 1.76; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

HNI paid dividends worth 2.9% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 2.9% yield is below the 4.7% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; HNI yields 2.9%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Not covered by earnings

Dividends take 1937% of net income, leaving little room.

Cash-flow cover

Needs dividends paid and free cash flow.