Herc (NYSE:HRI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $181.93 and last traded at $180.04, with a volume of 72080 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $169.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRI. Barclays lifted their target price on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut 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 shares of Herc from $178.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.80.

Herc Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $152.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.81. 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 company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.33 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at $5,632,047.45. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of Herc stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total transaction of $1,467,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares in the company, valued at $5,632,047.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,936,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $494,288,000 after purchasing an additional 38,798 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Herc by 18.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 561,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $74,908,000 after buying an additional 87,330 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Herc by 6.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 198,358 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,439,000 after buying an additional 12,277 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Herc by 185.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 170,649 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,720,000 after buying an additional 110,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in Herc by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 105,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,107,000 after buying an additional 21,971 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Company Profile

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.