H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Shares Gap Down to $59.22

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.22, but opened at $52.96. H&E Equipment Services shares last traded at $48.03, with a volume of 284,397 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on HEES shares. StockNews.com upgraded H&E Equipment Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 18.5 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.25. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 36.72% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm had revenue of $385.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services's payout ratio is 23.55%.

Insider Transactions at H&E Equipment Services

In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 9,615 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $555,747.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at $12,896,740.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other H&E Equipment Services news, Director Lawrence C. Karlson sold 8,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total value of $501,560.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,876,548.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 9,615 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $555,747.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,896,740.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789 over the last ninety days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Penn Mutual Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Americana Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Busey Bank purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.