Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $140.92, but opened at $149.99. Herc shares last traded at $145.1560, with a volume of 85,721 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HRI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $176.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

Herc Trading Up 4.6%

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 100.23, a PEG ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 1.86.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.67. Herc had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 1.01%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 190.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 14,281.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,268,318 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $755,161,000 after buying an additional 5,231,686 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Herc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $287,269,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 86,823.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,335,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $198,108,000 after buying an additional 1,333,602 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Herc in the second quarter worth $86,054,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP raised its holdings in Herc by 667.9% in the fourth quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 573,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $85,044,000 after acquiring an additional 498,511 shares in the last quarter. 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.