Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up to $148.40

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $148.40, but opened at $156.62. Herc shares last traded at $156.73, with a volume of 45,487 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Herc from $155.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $152.50.

Herc Stock Up 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.27. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $158.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.81.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.29 by ($0.05). Herc had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 30.21%. The business had revenue of $831.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $858.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 14.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Herc's payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of Herc stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total transaction of $564,009.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,973 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Herc by 5.4% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 2,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Herc by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 359 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Herc by 213.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 235 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 4.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 4,340 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

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.