JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.72% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Herc in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 2nd. KeyCorp set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Herc and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.57.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI traded down $6.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.57. 331,166 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.14. Herc has a 12 month low of $96.18 and a 12 month high of $212.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -62.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.78.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.39. Herc had a negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Herc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,437 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $481,040,000 after buying an additional 413,719 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Herc during the second quarter worth $242,697,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Herc by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,301,975 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $151,889,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Herc by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,113,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $146,681,000 after purchasing an additional 25,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Herc by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 943,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,095,000 after purchasing an additional 243,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

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.