Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 27,889 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 30.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 120,039 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,889 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Herc were worth $14,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Herc in the 3rd quarter worth $861,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Herc by 3.9% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Herc by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 469 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in Herc by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 25,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,145,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in Herc by 67.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of HRI stock opened at $166.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $141.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.51. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.45 and a 12-month high of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.08.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The transportation company reported $3.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.99. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Herc had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Herc from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Herc from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.57.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc., operating as Herc Rentals, provides equipment rental and related services to customers in construction, industrial, infrastructure, government and other sectors. Its offerings include aerial work platforms, earthmoving and material-handling equipment, power-generation and climate-control systems, pumps, and tools and accessories. The company also provides equipment sales, repair and maintenance, and specialized services such as trench shoring and remediation. Herc Rentals serves customers across the United States and Canada through its rental locations and service network.