Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 136,504 Shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) by 62.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,504 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.97% of H&E Equipment Services worth $18,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 105.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 6.6% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 241,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,411,000 after buying an additional 14,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HEES. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&E Equipment Services news, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total transaction of $281,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,567.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 15,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.54, for a total transaction of $885,252.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 232,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,391,974.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total transaction of $281,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 59,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,567.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,789 over the last three months. 12.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of HEES opened at $64.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.93 and its 200 day moving average is $49.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.94. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.33 and a fifty-two week high of $64.67.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $385.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.58 million. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 36.72%. H&E Equipment Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.