Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Up 8.5% After Analyst Upgrade

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 8.5% on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $140.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Herc traded as high as $123.85 and last traded at $127.05. Approximately 86,033 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 391,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.09.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. reduced their target price on shares of Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Herc by 3.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 42,982 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Herc in the 1st quarter valued at $779,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Herc by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,738 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,247,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares during the period. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Herc during the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $119.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($1.21). The firm had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.67 million. Herc had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 24.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Herc's payout ratio is currently 62.36%.

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.

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