StockNews.com Upgrades Herc (NYSE:HRI) to "Buy"

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Herc from $117.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.50.

Herc Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRI traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.74. The stock had a trading volume of 199,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,168. Herc has a 12 month low of $93.97 and a 12 month high of $171.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $158.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.21. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 3,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.10, for a total value of $564,009.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,560,647.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Herc by 14.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 350,401 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,677,000 after purchasing an additional 45,427 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Herc by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 34,871 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $5,192,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Herc in the third quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Herc by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,837,432 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $337,484,000 after purchasing an additional 23,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Herc by 3.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 287,725 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,222,000 after purchasing an additional 10,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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