Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Down 6.0% in August

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 932,700 shares, a decrease of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 992,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 250,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 35,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 35,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total value of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Herc by 650.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in Herc in the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Herc in the 1st quarter worth $242,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Herc by 303.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of HRI traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.46. 26,622 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,025. Herc has a 1 year low of $100.17 and a 1 year high of $171.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $140.69 and its 200-day moving average is $146.34. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.34). Herc had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The business had revenue of $848.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.05 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herc will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HRI shares. StockNews.com cut Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Herc in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.50.

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.