Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $175.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $165.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Herc from $176.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Herc from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.43.

Herc Stock Down 0.7%

Herc stock opened at $141.02 on Thursday. Herc has a 52 week low of $88.45 and a 52 week high of $188.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.93, a PEG ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 1.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $153.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.67. Herc had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Herc will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is 190.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRI. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Herc by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Herc during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Herc by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 358 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, operating under the Herc Rentals brand, is an equipment rental supplier serving construction, industrial, government, commercial, and other customers. The company provides short- and long-term rentals of equipment used for construction, maintenance, infrastructure, remediation, and event-related projects.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control systems, pumps, trench-safety equipment, tools, and general construction equipment.