Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded to Hold at BNP Paribas Exane

Herc (NYSE:HRI) was upgraded by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on HRI. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.86.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE HRI opened at $143.77 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -532.49, a PEG ratio of 26.49 and a beta of 1.89. Herc has a 1-year low of $88.45 and a 1-year high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Herc had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.Herc’s quarterly revenue was up 32.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Herc will post 5.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRI. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 342.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Herc by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Herc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Herc

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.