Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Increases By 5.1%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the October 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 287,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HEES shares. KeyCorp started coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, H&E Equipment Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.7 %

HEES stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.95. 19,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,764. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.84. H&E Equipment Services has a 12-month low of $40.92 and a 12-month high of $66.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.15). H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $384.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $388.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

About H&E Equipment Services

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.