Invesco Ltd. Buys 1,527,244 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Herc Holdings by 104.7% in the first quarter, acquiring over 1.5 million additional shares, bringing its total ownership to over 2.9 million shares valued at approximately $401 million.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets downward for Herc, with Barclays reducing its target from $250 to $160, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, reflecting a more cautious outlook.
• Herc recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%, despite having a high dividend payout ratio of 325.58%.

Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 104.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,986,479 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,527,244 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 10.48% of Herc worth $400,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HRI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Herc by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,163,221 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $424,726,000 after buying an additional 96,329 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Herc by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,662,000 after buying an additional 1,154,182 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Herc by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 561,377 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $106,286,000 after buying an additional 208,158 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Herc by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 418,509 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,236,000 after buying an additional 145,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coliseum Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Herc by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 418,010 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $79,142,000 after buying an additional 25,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of Herc stock traded up $8.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 406,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 641,481. Herc Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $96.18 and a one year high of $246.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.86. The business's fifty day moving average price is $127.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.73.

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

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Herc's dividend payout ratio is presently 325.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.60.

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.