Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Herc in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a neutral rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Herc currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $153.00.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE:HRI opened at $143.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Herc has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $171.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.58 and its 200 day moving average is $148.46.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $804.00 million for the quarter. Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. Research analysts predict that Herc will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.97%.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total transaction of $890,216.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Herc news, SVP Christian J. Cunningham sold 6,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.37, for a total transaction of $1,026,529.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 60,029 shares in the company, valued at $9,326,705.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total value of $890,216.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,347,180.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,092,946. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Herc

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Herc by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Herc by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Herc by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Herc in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Herc by 650.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

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.