Herc (NYSE:HRI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Herc (NYSE:HRI) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HRI. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.50.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $144.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.27. Herc has a 52 week low of $93.97 and a 52 week 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.03 and a 200 day moving average of $142.56.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $831.00 million during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Herc will post 14.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $6,560,647.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Herc by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Herc by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the third quarter worth about $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

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.