Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys 55,214 Shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES - Free Report) by 94.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,603 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 55,214 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of H&E Equipment Services worth $5,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,618 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $366,000. Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,153 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,501,000 after purchasing an additional 136,504 shares during the last quarter. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HEES traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.29. The stock had a trading volume of 288,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,861. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. has a one year low of $32.33 and a one year high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.95. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.27.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $385.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $382.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. H&E Equipment Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.55%.

Insider Activity at H&E Equipment Services

In related news, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total transaction of $281,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 59,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,332,567.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,259,726.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total value of $281,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 59,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,332,567.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789 in the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HEES shares. StockNews.com upgraded H&E Equipment Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Profile

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.