H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $99.28 and last traded at $97.80, with a volume of 468359 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $87.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HEES. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.25.

H&E Equipment Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.10.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,280 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 64,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 7.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in H&E Equipment Services by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.