Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Herc Holdings by 88.1% in the first quarter, buying 49,210 additional shares to reach 105,074 shares worth about $10.46 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on Herc, with recent target increases from JPMorgan and Citigroup, but the overall consensus is still “Hold” with an average price target of $173.43.
• Herc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.21 EPS versus an expected loss and $1.14 billion in revenue, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share.

Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 88.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,074 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 49,210 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Herc worth $10,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Herc by 342.1% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 168 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Herc in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Herc by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Herc in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Herc by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 358 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Herc from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Herc in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Herc from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $173.43.

Herc Stock Performance

NYSE HRI opened at $148.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -549.59, a P/E/G ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.01. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.45 and a 1-year high of $188.35.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.42. Herc had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,037.04%.

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.

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