Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI Stake Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors increased its stake in Herc by 39.0%, now owning 115,508 shares (about 0.35% of the company) valued at roughly $13.48 million, while institutional investors collectively hold 93.11% of the stock.
• Herc beat EPS estimates with $2.07 per share for the quarter (consensus $1.87) and reported revenue of $1.21 billion — down versus estimates but up 27.1% year-over-year — with a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin near zero.
• The stock trades around $111 with a market cap of $3.7 billion, pays a $0.70 quarterly dividend (2.5% yield), has a negative trailing P/E, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $175.43 average price target.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 39.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,508 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,426 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.35% of Herc worth $13,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Herc by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the third quarter valued at $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 20.3% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 438 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Herc by 114.7% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in Herc during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of Herc stock opened at $111.00 on Friday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.18 and a 12 month high of $188.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of -616.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.35.

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

Herc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Herc's dividend payout ratio is currently -1,555.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on HRI shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Herc from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.43.

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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