Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price Down 8.3% – Should You Sell?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s share price dropped 8.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $120.60 and last traded at $120.80. Approximately 534,503 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 598,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $131.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HRI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Herc from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.29.

Herc Stock Down 8.4%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $157.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -670.06, a PEG ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 1.73.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Herc had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company’s revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,555.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the third quarter worth about $7,876,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 8.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Herc by 397.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 15.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 80,484 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,685,000 after buying an additional 11,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $709,000. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

About Herc

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.