Herc (NYSE:HRI) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Herc from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Herc from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.67.

Herc Stock Down 5.3%

HRI opened at $141.98 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.73 and a 200 day moving average of $137.15. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -525.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 27.14 and a beta of 1.89. Herc has a 12 month low of $88.45 and a 12 month high of $188.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Herc had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. Herc’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Herc will post 5.31 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Herc’s payout ratio is currently -1,037.04%.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 342.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.