Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Herc shares gapped higher, opening at $142.00 versus the prior close of $135.26 and later trading at $144.46.
• Analyst sentiment improved, with multiple firms raising price targets or ratings. Herc has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $184.43.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.43 in EPS and $1.20 billion in revenue, while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share.

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $135.26, but opened at $142.00. Herc shares last traded at $144.46, with a volume of 12,337 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Herc from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Herc from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Herc from $176.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Herc from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $184.43.

Herc Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.86. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $153.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.67. Herc had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 2nd. Herc's payout ratio is currently 190.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,147,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Herc in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,234,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Herc by 147.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 235,320 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $23,426,000 after purchasing an additional 140,355 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC bought a new position in Herc during the second quarter valued at $21,070,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Herc in the fourth quarter worth $287,269,000. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

About Herc

Herc Holdings Inc, operating under the Herc Rentals brand, is an equipment rental supplier serving construction, industrial, government, commercial, and other customers. The company provides short- and long-term rentals of equipment used for construction, maintenance, infrastructure, remediation, and event-related projects.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control systems, pumps, trench-safety equipment, tools, and general construction equipment.

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