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

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) rose 8.5% on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $204.00 to $234.00. The Goldman Sachs Group 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 mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 391,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.09.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HRI. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.20.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Herc by 1,067.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,482 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,771,000 after acquiring an additional 27,870 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter valued at $946,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,258 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,185,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Herc in the 4th quarter worth $1,088,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Herc in the 4th quarter worth $5,377,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.60.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($1.21). The company had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $841.67 million. Herc had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 24.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Herc's payout ratio is 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.