Herc (NYSE:HRI) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $150.00 to $200.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Herc traded as high as $171.05 and last traded at $170.56, with a volume of 43801 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $169.42.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of Herc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $925,713.63. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at $5,632,047.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at $5,632,047.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of Herc stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total value of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,609,016.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRI. Creative Planning grew its position in Herc by 60.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 4,080 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the 3rd quarter worth $218,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Herc by 704.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 386 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 26,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,554,000 after purchasing an additional 16,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Herc by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,758 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $145.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $848.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.05 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.99% and a net margin of 10.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

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.