SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 397.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 6,690 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Herc were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Herc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 34.7% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 943,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,095,000 after purchasing an additional 243,320 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Herc during the third quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Herc by 15.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 80,484 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,685,000 after buying an additional 11,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Herc during the third quarter worth $2,291,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Stock Down 0.4%

HRI stock opened at $158.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of -62.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.78. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.18 and a 52 week high of $212.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $147.16 and a 200 day moving average of $135.58.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Herc had a negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 16.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently -111.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Herc in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Herc in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Herc and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.57.

Herc Company 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.