Herc (NYSE:HRI) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HRI. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of HRI opened at $146.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Herc has a one year low of $93.97 and a one year high of $171.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $158.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.85.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a return on equity of 28.68% and a net margin of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Herc will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.97%.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total value of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 48,232 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,180.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the third quarter worth approximately $775,000. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Herc by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Herc by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 176,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,028,000 after buying an additional 6,944 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Herc by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 16.5% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,755 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.