Herc (NYSE:HRI) Trading 9.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shot up 9.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $140.36 and last traded at $136.5490. 155,921 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 598,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HRI shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Herc from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Herc from $189.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.67.

Herc Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -770.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.82 and a 200 day moving average of $136.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Herc had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 0.02%.The firm’s revenue was up 32.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,555.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 438 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.