Reviewing Herc (HRI) and Its Competitors

Herc (NYSE:HRI) is one of 157 public companies in the “Trading Companies & Distributors” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Herc to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Herc and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Herc	0	2	6	1	2.89
Herc Competitors	1463	4914	6712	240	2.43

Herc presently has a consensus price target of $201.57, indicating a potential upside of 32.51%. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies have a potential upside of 12.83%. Given Herc’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Herc is more favorable than its rivals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.1% of Herc shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.5% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Herc shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.3% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Herc and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Herc	$4.38 billion	$1.00 million	41.45
Herc Competitors	$6.61 billion	$363.16 million	33.56

Herc’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Herc. Herc is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

Herc has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Herc’s rivals have a beta of 1.32, meaning that their average stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Herc pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Herc pays out 76.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.7% and pay out 34.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Herc has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Herc lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Herc and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Herc	2.50%	13.21%	1.85%
Herc Competitors	1.04%	-34.43%	3.51%

Summary

Herc beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Herc

Herc Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment. The company also sells used equipment and contractor supplies, such as construction consumables, tools, small equipment, and safety supplies; provides repair, maintenance, equipment management, and safety training services, as well as offers ancillary services, such as equipment transport, rental protection, cleaning, refueling, and labor. It serves non-residential and residential construction, specialty trade, restoration, remediation and environment, and facility maintenance contractors; industrial manufacturing industries, including automotive and aerospace, power, metals and mining, agriculture, pulp, paper and wood, food and beverage, and refineries and petrochemical industries; infrastructure and government sectors; and commercial and retail service, hospitality, healthcare, recreation, entertainment production, and special event management customers through its sales team, industry catalogs, as well as through participation and sponsorship of industry events, trade shows, and Internet. As of December 31, 2017, it operated approximately 275 locations in the United States, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Herc Holdings Inc. is based in Bonita Springs, Florida.