Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price Up 3.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s stock price traded up 3.3% on Wednesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $178.00 to $204.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Herc traded as high as $206.22 and last traded at $205.18. 149,942 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 233,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $198.60.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total value of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Herc news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $925,713.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,632,047.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total value of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Herc by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,936,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $494,288,000 after purchasing an additional 38,798 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Herc during the first quarter valued at $990,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 226.4% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,914 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 232.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 15,137.8% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The company had revenue of $965.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.00 earnings per share. Herc’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.97%.

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.