Herc (NYSE:HRI) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of HRI opened at $147.70 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.27. Herc has a 12-month low of $99.72 and a 12-month high of $171.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $804.00 million during the quarter. Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. As a group, research analysts predict that Herc will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In related news, CEO Lawrence Harris Silber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $3,176,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 213,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,887,195.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Lawrence Harris Silber sold 20,000 shares of Herc stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $3,176,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 213,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,887,195.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,996 shares of company stock worth $5,656,956. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,936,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $494,288,000 after purchasing an additional 38,798 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Herc by 37.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,667,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $198,303,000 after acquiring an additional 457,697 shares in the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 817,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $121,776,000 after acquiring an additional 169,886 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 605,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $90,136,000 after purchasing an additional 20,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 499,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,371,000 after purchasing an additional 45,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.