Gabelli Funds LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has increased its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. by 6.5%, now owning 435,050 shares valued at approximately $58.4 million.
• Herc reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.87 for the last quarter, which exceeds analysts' expectations of $1.29, alongside revenue of $1 billion.
• Herc Holdings will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share on September 5th, representing an annual yield of 2.1%.

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 435,050 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,400 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 1.53% of Herc worth $58,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Herc by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,223 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,331 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 646.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Herc by 7.0% during the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 3,947 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HRI shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.60.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE:HRI traded up $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $132.70. 214,251 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,868. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.93. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.18 and a 52 week high of $246.88. 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 cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.86.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.58. Herc had a net margin of 0.61% and a return on equity of 20.77%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.23 million. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Herc's payout ratio is presently 325.58%.

Herc Company 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.