Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 72.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 162,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 432,265 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.49% of Herc worth $16,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HRI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Herc by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after acquiring an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Herc by 12.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 752,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $87,758,000 after acquiring an additional 84,586 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Herc by 83.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 189,925 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,181,000 after acquiring an additional 86,282 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc by 39.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 115,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,475,000 after acquiring an additional 32,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 102,851 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,669,000 after purchasing an additional 22,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:HRI opened at $153.30 on Tuesday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.45 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -567.79, a P/E/G ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. Herc had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is -1,037.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Herc from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.67.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc (NYSE: HRI) operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company’s fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.