Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,119,455 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 156,559 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.06% of H&E Equipment Services worth $103,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HEES. Access Financial Services Inc. grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 3,555 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 779,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,925,000 after purchasing an additional 21,805 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $524,000. Institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.7 %

HEES stock opened at $94.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 1.94. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $40.93 and a one year high of $101.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.96.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.18. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The company had revenue of $384.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.50 million. As a group, analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HEES. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, H&E Equipment Services has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.33.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.