H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Short Interest Up 5.1% in November

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the October 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 287,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HEES shares. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the third quarter worth about $288,000. TT International Asset Management LTD grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 715.2% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 54,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 48,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 755,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 185.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 39,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 237,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,575,000 after purchasing an additional 63,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Price Performance

HEES opened at $59.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.61 and a 200-day moving average of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.84. H&E Equipment Services has a 1-year low of $40.92 and a 1-year high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $384.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.18 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.47%. H&E Equipment Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

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.