Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stock Position in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 86,823.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,335,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,333,602 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Herc were worth $198,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $481,040,000 after purchasing an additional 413,719 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 8.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 40.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 825,511 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $108,712,000 after purchasing an additional 235,694 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 18.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 784,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $103,374,000 after purchasing an additional 124,136 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 12.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 752,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,758,000 after purchasing an additional 84,586 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Price Performance

Herc stock opened at $138.74 on Friday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $88.45 and a one year high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.05. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -513.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.90.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.42. Herc had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Herc’s quarterly revenue was up 32.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,037.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Herc from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Herc from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc (NYSE: HRI) operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company’s fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.