Hengistbury Investment Partners LLP Invests $10.07 Million in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Key Points

• Hengistbury Investment Partners LLP invested $10.07 million in Herc Holdings Inc., acquiring approximately 75,000 shares, which now represent 5.8% of Hengistbury's holdings.
• Herc recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70, yielding 2.5%, despite a high payout ratio of 325.58%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.87, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $1 billion against a projected $868.23 million.

Hengistbury Investment Partners LLP bought a new position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 75,000 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $10,070,000. Herc makes up about 5.8% of Hengistbury Investment Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hengistbury Investment Partners LLP owned about 0.26% of Herc at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Herc by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $268,662,000 after buying an additional 1,154,182 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $235,748,000 after acquiring an additional 508,359 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 561,377 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $106,286,000 after acquiring an additional 208,158 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 418,509 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,236,000 after acquiring an additional 145,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coliseum Capital Management LLC grew its position in Herc by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 418,010 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,142,000 after acquiring an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.60.

Herc Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Herc stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $116.49. 382,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,768. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.86. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $128.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.90. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.18 and a 1-year high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.58. Herc had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 20.77%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $868.23 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Herc's dividend payout ratio is currently 325.58%.

Herc Profile

Herc Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental supplier. It rents aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction, and lighting equipment, as well as generators, and safety supplies and expendables; and provides ProSolutions, an industry specific solution based services, such as pumping solutions, power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment.