Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

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

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

Herc Price Performance

Shares of HRI opened at $153.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.27. Herc has a 1-year low of $93.97 and a 1-year high of $171.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 30.21%. The company had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $858.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Herc will post 14.75 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.665 dividend. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Herc by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 576.1% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 311 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at about $173,000. Hedge funds and other 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.