StockNews.com Upgrades Herc (NYSE:HRI) to Buy

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $152.50.

Herc Price Performance

HRI stock opened at $152.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $159.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.60. Herc has a 1 year low of $93.97 and a 1 year high of $171.00.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. The business had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $858.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Herc will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of Herc stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Herc during the first quarter worth $6,958,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in Herc by 172.4% during the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its position in Herc by 21.1% during the first quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in Herc during the first quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Herc by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,898,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $431,505,000 after buying an additional 60,715 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Herc

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.