Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 110.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,544 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,032 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.86% of Herc worth $46,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRI. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Herc by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 54.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Herc by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 460 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Herc by 564.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Price Performance

HRI stock opened at $122.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.74 and a 1 year high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. On average, equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on HRI shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Herc in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.20.

About Herc

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.