Capital World Investors Reduces Holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its stake in Herc by 33.1% in Q3, selling 583,030 shares and ending the quarter with 1,176,455 shares (about 3.54% of the company) valued at roughly $137.2 million.
• Other institutions moved decisively: Norges Bank initiated a ~ $242.7 million position and Invesco increased its holding to 3,709,718 shares (~$488.5 million), contributing to an overall institutional ownership level of 93.11%.
• Analysts are mildly positive (average rating: "Moderate Buy", target $175.43), and Herc recently beat EPS estimates ($2.07 vs. $1.87) while trading with a market cap of about $3.85 billion and a 52‑week range of $96.18–$188.35.

Capital World Investors lowered its position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,176,455 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 583,030 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 3.54% of Herc worth $137,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Herc during the second quarter worth about $242,697,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,709,718 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $488,533,000 after buying an additional 723,239 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,204,740 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $158,653,000 after buying an additional 271,532 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Herc by 34.7% in 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 buying an additional 243,320 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Herc by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 825,511 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $108,712,000 after buying an additional 235,694 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Herc from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.43.

Herc Price Performance

NYSE:HRI opened at $115.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -641.31, a P/E/G ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.73. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.18 and a 52-week high of $188.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.45 and a 200 day moving average of $141.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31.

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

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc's dividend payout ratio is -1,555.56%.

About Herc

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.

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.