Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Drops By 18.4%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a decrease of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 2,340,000 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 968,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.1 %

HEES stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.81. 404,288 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 460,999. H&E Equipment Services has a one year low of $40.93 and a one year high of $101.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.39.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $384.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.50 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.47%. Equities research analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HEES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, H&E Equipment Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HEES. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,134,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,493,000 after purchasing an additional 313,880 shares during the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP boosted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 1,030,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,433,000 after buying an additional 119,151 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 2,576.2% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 855,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,884,000 after buying an additional 823,510 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in H&E Equipment Services by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 779,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,925,000 after buying an additional 21,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 755,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,762,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

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.