Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

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

HRI has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE HRI opened at $152.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.51. Herc has a one year low of $93.97 and a one year high of $171.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $159.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Herc news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Herc by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Herc by 5.4% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 2,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Herc by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 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.