Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI Shares Acquired by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. significantly increased its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. by 362.8% during Q2, owning 700,402 shares valued at approximately $92.2 million.
• Herc reported impressive financial results, with earnings per share of $1.87 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.29 and achieving revenues of $1 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, reflecting a yearly yield of 2.2%, although its dividend payout ratio stands at an unusually high 325.58%.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 362.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 700,402 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 549,072 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 2.46% of Herc worth $92,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRI. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Herc by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,982 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Herc by 8.0% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,758 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 8.0% in the first quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Herc by 21.4% in the first quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the first quarter worth $11,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRI opened at $128.87 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $124.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.06. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.18 and a 1 year high of $246.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 149.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.58. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.23 million. Herc had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 20.77%. On average, research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HRI. Robert W. Baird set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Herc and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Herc from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Herc from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.20.

About Herc

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.

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