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 dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $59.22, but opened at $52.96. H&E Equipment Services shares last traded at $48.03, with a volume of 284,397 shares.

The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $371.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.52 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 35.38% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HEES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 23,100 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $1,398,243.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,416,656.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 15,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.54, for a total value of $885,252.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 232,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,391,974.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 23,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total value of $1,398,243.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 221,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,416,656.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789 in the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Penn Mutual Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Americana Partners LLC acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Busey Bank acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 7.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.30 and a 200-day moving average of $52.20.

About H&E Equipment Services

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.