Herc (NYSE:HRI) Trading 3.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shot up 3.3% during trading on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $178.00 to $204.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Herc traded as high as $206.22 and last traded at $205.18. 149,942 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 233,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.60.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of Herc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of Herc stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total transaction of $1,467,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,609,016.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of Herc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,632,047.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 650.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 704.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Trading Down 0.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.29 and a 200 day moving average of $147.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a return on equity of 26.99% and a net margin of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.97%.

About Herc

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.