Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Herc shares gapped up pre-market from $107.86 to an $115.00 open and last traded at $117.84 on ~99,241 shares, indicating renewed intraday buying interest.
• Analysts are mixed and have trimmed targets — several firms cut price targets (Citigroup to $135, JPMorgan to $125, KeyCorp to $165) and the consensus rating sits at Hold with an average target of $159.67.
• Company fundamentals are mixed: Herc beat EPS estimates ($2.07 vs. $1.87) with revenue up 27.1% YoY, but it carries high leverage (debt/equity 4.17), a negative P/E, and pays a $0.70 quarterly dividend (2.2% yield).

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $107.86, but opened at $115.00. Herc shares last traded at $117.84, with a volume of 99,241 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HRI shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Herc from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.67.

Herc Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -708.03, a P/E/G ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 1.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $118.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.38.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Herc had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Herc's dividend payout ratio is presently -1,555.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HRI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Herc during the fourth quarter worth $287,269,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Herc by 86,823.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,335,138 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $198,108,000 after buying an additional 1,333,602 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP increased its position in Herc by 667.9% during the fourth quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 573,149 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $85,044,000 after buying an additional 498,511 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Herc by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,437 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $481,040,000 after buying an additional 413,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Herc by 305.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 425,582 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,148,000 after purchasing an additional 320,649 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.