Phocas Financial Corp. Purchases 5,779 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,869 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.15% of Herc worth $7,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Herc by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Herc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,876,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 397.5% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Herc by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 752,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,758,000 after buying an additional 84,586 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Herc by 15.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of HRI stock opened at $91.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.45 and a 12-month high of $188.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.53 and a 200-day moving average of $138.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -505.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.81.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc’s payout ratio is -1,555.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Herc from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.86.

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.