Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.2857.

HRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Herc Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:HRI opened at $148.39 on Wednesday. Herc has a 1 year low of $96.18 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $159.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -824.41, a PEG ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.20. Herc had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 0.02%.The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. Herc’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Herc’s payout ratio is presently -1,555.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRI. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Herc by 342.1% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Herc by 53.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Herc during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Herc

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.