Herc (NYSE:HRI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.40 EPS

Herc (NYSE:HRI) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40), Zacks reports. Herc had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 26.35%.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of HRI stock opened at $201.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $198.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.28. Herc has a 12 month low of $124.70 and a 12 month high of $246.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.04.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Herc’s payout ratio is 21.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.75.

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.