Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $195.00 to $185.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.08% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.29.

Herc Price Performance

HRI stock opened at $152.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $159.79 and its 200-day moving average is $140.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of -848.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 1.77. Herc has a 1 year low of $96.18 and a 1 year high of $188.35.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 176.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after buying an additional 16,470 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Herc by 25.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,337,000 after acquiring an additional 53,054 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Herc in the second quarter valued at about $922,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Herc during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Herc News

Here are the key news stories impacting Herc this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp kept an Overweight rating and a $190 price target and slightly raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate — that endorsement and target above current levels supports investor optimism. MarketBeat HRI
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage noted HRI among stocks trading up today, which can drive short‑term momentum and higher intraday volume. Yahoo Finance: WillScot Mobile Mini, Sterling, Herc…
• Neutral Sentiment: Herc presented at Citi’s Global Industrial Tech & Mobility Conference — the transcript increases investor access to management commentary and strategy, which is useful but not an immediate earnings driver. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp cut near‑term and full‑year 2026 EPS forecasts (Q1, Q3 and FY reductions) even as it raised Q4 — lower near‑term estimates could pressure expectations if the business mix or seasonality is weaker than hoped. MarketBeat HRI
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokers trimmed price targets recently (Citigroup to $185 and Robert W. Baird reduced its target as well), signaling some analyst caution despite buy ratings — these cuts temper upside for the stock. Benzinga / Citigroup note AmericanBankingNews: Baird

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.