Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up to $148.40

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $148.40, but opened at $156.62. Herc shares last traded at $156.73, with a volume of 45,487 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on HRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.50.

Herc Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $158.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.81.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 30.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in Herc by 1.5% in the 4th 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 period. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Herc by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Herc by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Company Profile

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.