Herc (NYSE:HRI) Trading Down 6.7% – What’s Next?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s share price dropped 6.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $143.02 and last traded at $142.1050. 287,618 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 566,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HRI. Citigroup lifted their target price on Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Herc from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

Herc Stock Down 7.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.05, a PEG ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 1.86.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. Herc had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 1.01%.The company’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 190.48%.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 342.1% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Herc by 50.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Herc by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 358 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Company 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.