Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price Up 5.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Herc shares rose 5.8% on Thursday, trading as high as $160.90 after closing at $151.04 the prior day. Trading volume was below average, with 324,207 shares changing hands.
• Analysts have recently turned more upbeat on the stock, with Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others raising price targets. The current consensus rating is Hold, with an average target price of $173.43.
• Herc’s recent quarter beat expectations, reporting $0.21 EPS versus an expected loss and $1.14 billion in revenue, up 32.3% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.70, or $2.80 annualized.

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) shot up 5.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $160.90 and last traded at $159.7910. 324,207 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 587,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HRI. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Herc from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Herc in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Herc from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $173.43.

Herc Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -595.81, a PEG ratio of 26.86 and a beta of 1.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.03.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.42. Herc had a negative net margin of 0.11% and a positive return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Herc's payout ratio is -1,037.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Herc by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,123,437 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $481,040,000 after purchasing an additional 413,719 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the fourth quarter worth about $287,269,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Herc by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,164,022 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $115,872,000 after acquiring an additional 170,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Herc by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 873,338 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $86,941,000 after acquiring an additional 103,047 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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