H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.33.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $92.00 price target (up previously from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HEES traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $89.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 192,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,414. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $93.63 and its 200-day moving average is $74.46. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $40.93 and a 52-week high of $101.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.63). H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. H&E Equipment Services's payout ratio is 32.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $242,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter valued at $841,000. CIBRA Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $967,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the first quarter worth about $134,000. Finally, Syquant Capital Sas acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth $2,654,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.