Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI Stock Position Lifted by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Herc by 12.7% to 752,255 shares (2.26% of the company) valued at about $87.8M, while other institutions — notably Norges Bank (new $242.7M position), Invesco, American Century, Vaughan Nelson and AllianceBernstein — also added shares, leaving institutional ownership at 93.11%.
• Herc beat quarterly EPS estimates at $2.07 (vs. $1.87 consensus) with revenue up 27.1% YoY but slightly shy of estimates; the stock has a $4.05B market cap, pays a $0.70 quarterly dividend (2.3% yield), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $175.43 target.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 752,255 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 84,586 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 2.26% of Herc worth $87,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Herc during the 2nd quarter valued at $242,697,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 24.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,709,718 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $488,533,000 after acquiring an additional 723,239 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 29.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,204,740 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $158,653,000 after acquiring an additional 271,532 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Herc by 34.7% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 943,722 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $110,095,000 after purchasing an additional 243,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Herc by 40.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 825,511 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $108,712,000 after purchasing an additional 235,694 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $121.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -674.25, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.85. Herc Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.18 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

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

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,555.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HRI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Herc from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Herc from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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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