Pier Capital LLC Buys 768 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Pier Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,883 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Herc accounts for about 1.5% of Pier Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Pier Capital LLC’s holdings in Herc were worth $10,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth about $71,211,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Herc in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,982,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Herc by 578.8% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 231,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,760,000 after buying an additional 197,082 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 117.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,739,000 after buying an additional 62,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 736,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,470,000 after acquiring an additional 56,191 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Herc Stock Up 5.2 %

NYSE HRI opened at $142.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.60 and a 52 week high of $246.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.82 and a 200-day moving average of $184.11.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $919.84 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HRI shares. Citigroup started coverage on Herc in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.20.

Herc Company Profile

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.