Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes Position in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. has acquired 9,210 shares of Herc Holdings Inc. during the 1st quarter, valued at approximately $1,237,000.
• Herc Holdings recently reported $1.87 earnings per share, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.29, and had a revenue of $1 billion for the last quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0%, despite a high payout ratio of 325.58%.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,210 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Herc by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 17,762 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $586,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $243,000. Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $273,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Herc by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 12,075 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on HRI shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research raised Herc from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.60.

Herc Stock Performance

HRI traded down $2.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.64. The stock had a trading volume of 126,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,314. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.83. 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 current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Herc's dividend payout ratio is presently 325.58%.

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.