Norges Bank Makes New $183.79 Million Investment in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 970,716 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,786,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HRI. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Herc by 191.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 27,858 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after buying an additional 18,289 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 736,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,470,000 after acquiring an additional 56,191 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in shares of Herc by 461.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 23,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 19,659 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Herc by 3.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 67,766 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,804,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Herc in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.20.

Herc Stock Down 0.5 %

Herc stock opened at $138.91 on Monday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.60 and a twelve month high of $246.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.84 and a 200-day moving average of $184.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.14.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $919.84 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 2.02%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.79%.

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.