UBS Group AG Grows Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. $HRI

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Herc Holdings by 83.2% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 86,282 shares and bringing its total to 189,925 shares worth about $28.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent price targets ranged from $125 to $198, and MarketBeat says the stock’s consensus rating is currently Hold with a $165.67 target.
• Herc reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.21 versus an expected loss and revenue of $1.14 billion, up 32.3% year over year.

UBS Group AG raised its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 83.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,925 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 86,282 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.57% of Herc worth $28,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the third quarter valued at $40,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Herc by 628.8% during the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 430 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Herc by 20.3% during 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 last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Herc from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Herc Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $133.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -494.90, a PEG ratio of 26.65 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $113.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.77. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.45 and a 52-week high of $188.35.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Herc had a positive return on equity of 10.72% and a negative net margin of 0.11%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Herc Company Profile

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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