Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,830 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. by 12.5%, selling 1,830 shares, which leaves them with a total of 12,767 shares valued at approximately $1.71 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 93.11% of Herc's stock, with various firms making significant increases in their holdings recently.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a substantial miss in earnings per share expectations, reporting $1.30 per share compared to the estimated $2.51.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,767 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 1,830 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Herc were worth $1,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HRI. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Herc by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Herc by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,945 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 5.1% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,223 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 8.0% in the first quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Herc by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,331 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on HRI shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.60.

Herc Price Performance

NYSE:HRI traded down $2.76 on Wednesday, hitting $120.85. The company had a trading volume of 553,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.94. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.18 and a 52 week high of $246.88.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Herc's payout ratio is 62.36%.

About Herc

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.