Ellsworth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,097 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,291,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Herc as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Herc by 53.1% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Herc in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Herc during the second quarter valued at $45,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Herc in the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc by 158.2% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HRI. Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Herc from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. KeyCorp set a $200.00 price target on shares of Herc and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Herc in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.86.

Herc Price Performance

HRI stock opened at $156.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.99 and a 200-day moving average of $131.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -62.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.81. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.18 and a 12 month high of $212.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The transportation company reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $745.00 million for the quarter. Herc had a negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 16.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Herc’s payout ratio is presently -111.11%.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc (NYSE: HRI) operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company’s fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.