Herc (NYSE:HRI) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $181.93 and last traded at $180.04, with a volume of 72080 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HRI. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Herc from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.75.

Herc Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.13.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $965.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.33 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 26.99%. Herc’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.97%.

Insider Activity at Herc

In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total transaction of $1,467,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Herc news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total transaction of $1,467,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of Herc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 35,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HRI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,936,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $494,288,000 after buying an additional 38,798 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Herc by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 561,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,908,000 after acquiring an additional 87,330 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Herc by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 198,358 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,439,000 after purchasing an additional 12,277 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Herc by 185.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 170,649 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,720,000 after purchasing an additional 110,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Herc by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 105,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after purchasing an additional 21,971 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.