Herc (NYSE:HRI) Price Target Raised to $204.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price objective lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $178.00 to $204.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on HRI. StockNews.com downgraded Herc from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.80.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE HRI opened at $209.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $152.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.81. Herc has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $210.93.

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

Herc Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Herc

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Herc by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,898,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $431,505,000 after purchasing an additional 60,715 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Herc by 172.4% in the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,878 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Herc by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 22,982 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,868,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herc during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $960,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Herc by 30.5% during the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,947 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.