Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $200.00 to $198.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential upside of 31.61% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on HRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Herc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Barclays lifted 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Herc Price Performance

HRI stock opened at $150.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28. The firm has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.70, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.82. Herc has a 12-month low of $96.18 and a 12-month high of $190.04.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Herc had a positive return on equity of 16.32% and a negative net margin of 1.68%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the third quarter worth $7,876,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 397.5% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 80,484 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,685,000 after purchasing an additional 11,032 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Herc during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,291,000. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the second quarter valued at about $395,000. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Key Herc News

Here are the key news stories impacting Herc this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat expectations and strong year?over?year revenue growth (quarterly revenue up ~27%); this beat on the bottom line supports near?term earnings credibility. MarketBeat: Q4 Results & Call
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced full?year 2026 guidance and highlighted the strategic rationale for closing the large H&E acquisition, which could drive long?term scale and synergies if execution proceeds as planned. BusinessWire: Full?Year Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Detailed materials — the earnings call transcript and slide deck — are available for investors to review guidance detail and management’s integration commentary. Use these to assess margin trajectory and capex assumptions. Seeking Alpha: Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed consensus (reported $1.21B vs. ~$1.25B est.) and the company still shows a negative net margin; EPS is well below last year’s level, raising near?term profitability concerns. Investing.com: Beats EPS, Misses Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag execution risks on the H&E integration — delayed synergies or higher?than?expected integration costs could pressure 2026 earnings and the stock if projected benefits slip. TipRanks: Execution Risks on H&E Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares opened lower as traders focused on the revenue miss and integration risk headlines. Short?term volatility is likely while investors digest guidance detail and integration timelines. KalkineMedia: HRI Opens Lower

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.