The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Herc (NYSE:HRI) Price Target to $178.00

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price objective upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $155.00 to $178.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Separately, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $152.50.

Herc Trading Down 1.2 %

Herc stock opened at $150.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.84. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.27. Herc has a 52-week low of $93.97 and a 52-week high of $171.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 30.21%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Herc will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 60.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 10,319 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 3,904 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 315 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 28,368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,740,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,238,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Herc

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.