Herc (NYSE:HRI) Trading Up 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $160.90 and last traded at $159.7910. 324,207 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 587,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HRI shares. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Herc in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Herc from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.43.

Herc Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.28. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -601.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 1.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.42. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 32.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,037.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Herc by 342.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Herc in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Herc by 628.8% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Herc by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Herc

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.