Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Up 23.7% in March

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 527,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of HRI stock opened at $111.66 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. Herc has a 12-month low of $108.29 and a 12-month high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is 37.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in Herc by 646.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Herc by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Herc has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.20.

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.