Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $200.04, but opened at $172.67. Herc shares last traded at $170.09, with a volume of 433,988 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.75.

Herc Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.74.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $919.84 million. Equities research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s payout ratio is 37.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 646.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Herc by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Herc by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Herc during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

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.