Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Down 8.3% – What’s Next?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) was down 8.3% on Friday . The company 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Herc from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.29.

Herc Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -668.33, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.54 and a 200 day moving average of $141.70. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.20. Herc had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 0.02%.The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 176.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 16,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Herc by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,337,000 after buying an additional 53,054 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Herc by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,752 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Herc by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 164,521 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,666,000 after acquiring an additional 14,297 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Herc by 244.8% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 174,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,970,000 after acquiring an additional 123,839 shares in the last quarter. 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.