HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded HireQuest to “Buy,” joining DA Davidson’s Buy rating; analysts’ consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $19.00 target price.
• HireQuest reported quarterly EPS of $0.23, exceeding the $0.13 estimate, while revenue of $8.10 million topped the $7.10 million consensus forecast.
• HQI shares opened at $16.14, with a market capitalization of approximately $224 million; institutional investors own about 12% of the stock after several funds increased their positions.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on HQI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HireQuest from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barrington Research set a $19.00 price objective on HireQuest in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on HireQuest from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

HireQuest Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of HQI stock opened at $16.14 on Friday. HireQuest has a fifty-two week low of $7.38 and a fifty-two week high of $19.01. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $14.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.52. The stock has a market cap of $224.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 1.14.

HireQuest (NASDAQ:HQI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.10. HireQuest had a net margin of 27.06% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The company had revenue of $8.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that HireQuest will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HQI. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in HireQuest by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 139,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in HireQuest by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 26,303 shares of the company's stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 10,627 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in HireQuest by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 293,013 shares of the company's stock worth $2,819,000 after buying an additional 12,246 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in HireQuest by 158.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,945 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 6,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in HireQuest in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. 12.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About HireQuest

HireQuest, Inc is a publicly traded holding company that provides equipment rental and workforce solutions across North America through two primary operating subsidiaries. Its Coast Equipment Rentals division offers a broad range of support equipment—such as pumps, trench safety systems, power and HVAC units, air compressors, light towers and generators—to the construction, industrial, municipal and environmental markets. Coast Equipment Rentals operates more than 135 branch locations in 36 U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source