H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Short Interest Update

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, a growth of 16.3% from the July 15th total of 885,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 299,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HEES. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 113,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,944,000 after buying an additional 55,214 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the fourth quarter valued at $4,000,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 4th quarter valued at $879,000. 84.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:HEES traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 283,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 267,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.10. H&E Equipment Services has a twelve month low of $38.06 and a twelve month high of $66.18.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $376.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.05 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 30.84% and a net margin of 10.53%. H&E Equipment Services’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of H&E Equipment Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James began coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, H&E Equipment Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.