StockNews.com Downgrades Herc (NYSE:HRI) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Herc in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $153.00.

Herc Price Performance

Herc stock opened at $136.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.58 and its 200 day moving average is $148.48. 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 has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $171.00.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.12). Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. The business had revenue of $804.00 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Herc will post 14.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.97%.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In other news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total transaction of $890,216.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Lawrence Harris Silber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $3,176,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,382 shares in the company, valued at $33,887,195.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total transaction of $890,216.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 48,232 shares in the company, valued at $7,347,180.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,092,946. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 1.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 817,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $121,776,000 after purchasing an additional 169,886 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 605,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $90,136,000 after acquiring an additional 20,358 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 499,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,371,000 after acquiring an additional 45,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 466,119 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,400,000 after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.