Short Interest in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Grows By 21.2%

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,970,000 shares, a growth of 21.2% from the April 30th total of 2,450,000 shares. Approximately 10.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 576,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRI traded up $2.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $121.62. The company had a trading volume of 328,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,311. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.07. Herc has a fifty-two week low of $96.19 and a fifty-two week high of $246.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($1.21). The business had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.67 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRI. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Herc by 104.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,986,479 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $400,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527,244 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 435.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $183,786,000. Coliseum Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 213.4% in the 1st quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,989 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $175,892,000 after acquiring an additional 891,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $235,748,000 after acquiring an additional 508,359 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.