Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Update

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a growth of 14.6% from the September 30th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 274,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HRI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Herc from $178.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Herc has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.25.

Insider Transactions at Herc

In other news, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $1,065,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,600,408.32. 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 related news, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of Herc stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total value of $1,065,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,600,408.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,880 shares of company stock worth $3,342,960. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Herc

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herc during the first quarter worth $31,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 650.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Herc by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 369.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 343 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 704.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Price Performance

NYSE:HRI traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $211.15. 17,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 241,720. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $160.24 and its 200-day moving average is $148.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.07. Herc has a 1-year low of $105.00 and a 1-year high of $214.62.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $965.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.33 million. Herc had a return on equity of 27.16% and a net margin of 10.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Herc will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Herc’s payout ratio is 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.