H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Short Interest Up 5.6% in January

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the December 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 265,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, H&E Equipment Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.25.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

HEES opened at $87.73 on Tuesday. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $40.92 and a 52-week high of $90.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.93 and its 200-day moving average is $54.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.93.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in H&E Equipment Services by 43.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company bought a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

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.