Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HRI. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $152.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.08 and its 200-day moving average is $141.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.51. Herc has a 52-week low of $93.97 and a 52-week high of $171.00.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. The firm had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Herc will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Herc by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Herc by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.