Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up to $148.40

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $148.40, but opened at $156.62. Herc shares last traded at $156.73, with a volume of 45,487 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HRI. StockNews.com raised shares of Herc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Herc Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.21.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a return on equity of 30.21% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $858.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.75 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Herc by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in Herc by 5.4% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 2,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Herc by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Herc by 213.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Herc by 4.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,340 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.