Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $135.26, but opened at $142.00. Herc shares last traded at $144.46, with a volume of 12,337 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HRI. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Herc from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Herc from $176.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.43.

Herc Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.67. Herc had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 1.01%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 190.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 17,353 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 5,142 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Herc in the second quarter worth $133,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Herc by 4.1% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Herc in the second quarter valued at $2,078,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, operating under the Herc Rentals brand, is an equipment rental supplier serving construction, industrial, government, commercial, and other customers. The company provides short- and long-term rentals of equipment used for construction, maintenance, infrastructure, remediation, and event-related projects.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control systems, pumps, trench-safety equipment, tools, and general construction equipment.