H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,214 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.31% of H&E Equipment Services worth $5,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HEES. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 169.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 903,353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,955,000 after purchasing an additional 568,416 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,019,000. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 11.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,810,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,589,000 after purchasing an additional 287,077 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 201.3% during the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 247,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 165,397 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 62.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,501,000 after purchasing an additional 136,504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of HEES stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 81,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,081. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.27. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.33 and a 12-month high of $66.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.95.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.25. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 36.72%. The firm had revenue of $385.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawrence C. Karlson sold 8,225 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $501,560.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 47,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,876,548.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 15,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.54, for a total transaction of $885,252.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 232,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,391,974.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence C. Karlson sold 8,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $501,560.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,876,548.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,789 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

About H&E Equipment Services

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.