Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price Down 5.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) shares dropped by 5.7%, closing at $130.16 with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on HRI, with three giving a "buy" rating and three a "hold," while Zacks upgraded the stock to "hold" from "strong sell."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 325.58%.

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) fell 5.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $129.24 and last traded at $130.16. 187,608 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 511,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $138.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRI. Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Herc from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Herc from $170.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.60.

Herc Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.22, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $868.23 million. Herc had a return on equity of 20.77% and a net margin of 0.61%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued 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 Friday, August 22nd. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.58%.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Herc in the 2nd quarter valued at $242,697,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Herc by 104.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,986,479 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $400,995,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527,244 shares in the last quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 213.4% in the 1st quarter. Coliseum Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309,989 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $175,892,000 after acquiring an additional 891,979 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Herc by 362.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 700,402 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $92,236,000 after acquiring an additional 549,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Herc by 135.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 589,817 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $79,195,000 after acquiring an additional 339,519 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.