Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $140.92, but opened at $149.99. Herc shares last traded at $145.1560, with a volume of 85,721 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $176.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.00.

Herc Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.31 and a beta of 1.86.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. Herc had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc’s payout ratio is 190.48%.

Institutional Trading of Herc

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,147,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,234,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Herc by 147.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 235,320 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,426,000 after purchasing an additional 140,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Herc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,269,000. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Herc during the 2nd quarter worth $21,070,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Herc Company Profile

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.