Herc (NYSE:HRI) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.21 EPS

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($1.21), Zacks reports. Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The firm had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $841.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share.

Herc Stock Down 2.8 %

HRI traded down $3.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.38. The stock had a trading volume of 415,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,175. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Herc has a twelve month low of $96.19 and a twelve month high of $246.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc's payout ratio is 37.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HRI. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Herc currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.20.

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.