StockNews.com Upgrades Herc (NYSE:HRI) to “Buy”

Herc (NYSE:HRI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

HRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.50.

Herc Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRI traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.74. The company had a trading volume of 199,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,168. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.27. Herc has a one year low of $93.97 and a one year high of $171.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $831.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $858.06 million. Herc had a return on equity of 30.21% and a net margin of 10.58%. Herc’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Herc will post 14.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 213.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 576.1% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 311 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 45.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Herc in the 4th quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Herc during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.