California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,716 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.14% of Herc worth $6,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 213.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE HRI opened at $146.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $158.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.03. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.97 and a 1-year high of $171.00.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $858.06 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 28.68%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.59 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on HRI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In other news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total transaction of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 5,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.33, for a total value of $890,216.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 48,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,347,180.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.