Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 527,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Herc by 646.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Herc by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Herc by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 368 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Herc Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE HRI traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $117.70. The stock had a trading volume of 593,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,744. Herc has a twelve month low of $109.39 and a twelve month high of $246.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $139.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc (NYSE:HRI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The firm had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.20.

Get Our Latest Research Report on HRI

Herc Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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