Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price Down 7.1% Following Insider Selling

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s share price traded down 7.1% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $141.55 and last traded at $141.96. 194,067 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 195,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.82.

Specifically, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of Herc stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares in the company, valued at $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HRI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Herc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 6.4 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $159.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.54. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. Herc had a return on equity of 28.68% and a net margin of 10.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Herc by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,667,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $198,303,000 after acquiring an additional 457,697 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,505,000. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter valued at $30,457,000. Theleme Partners LLP increased its holdings in Herc by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Theleme Partners LLP now owns 817,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $121,776,000 after buying an additional 169,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 585,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $69,583,000 after acquiring an additional 107,708 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.