H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $52.96, but opened at $45.11. H&E Equipment Services shares last traded at $49.85, with a volume of 19,738 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $376.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.05 million. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 31.60%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HEES shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut H&E Equipment Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James initiated coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on H&E Equipment Services from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, H&E Equipment Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 3.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 11,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Loews Corp purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,742,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 199,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,793,000 after buying an additional 16,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $203,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&E Equipment Services Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.52.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.