Raymond James & Associates Reduces Position in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,276 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.10% of H&E Equipment Services worth $1,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 396.4% during the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HEES opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.95. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.33 and a fifty-two week high of $66.18.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.25. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 36.72%. The company had revenue of $385.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

Insider Transactions at H&E Equipment Services

In other news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,259,726.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,259,726.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lawrence C. Karlson sold 8,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $501,560.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 47,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,876,548.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,789 over the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HEES shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.