H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 747,800 shares, a growth of 41.3% from the May 31st total of 529,100 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 283,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HEES shares. Raymond James began coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut H&E Equipment Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 89,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,870,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the first quarter worth about $62,000. 84.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ HEES traded down $1.42 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.75. 247,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,466. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.89. H&E Equipment Services has a fifty-two week low of $38.06 and a fifty-two week high of $66.18.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $371.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.52 million. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 34.33%. H&E Equipment Services’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.55%.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.