Herc (NYSE:HRI) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $96.10 and last traded at $96.0440, with a volume of 558012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.86.

Herc Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -505.82, a PEG ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.31.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.20. Herc had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,555.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $481,040,000 after purchasing an additional 413,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Herc during the fourth quarter worth about $287,269,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Herc by 86,823.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,335,138 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $198,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,602 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Herc by 8.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in Herc by 2.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,113,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $146,681,000 after buying an additional 25,634 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc (NYSE: HRI) operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company’s fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.