Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Declines By 45.3%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a decline of 45.3% from the March 31st total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 912,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 3.3% of the company's shares are sold short.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HEES opened at $90.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94 and a beta of 1.74. H&E Equipment Services has a 1-year low of $40.93 and a 1-year high of $101.28.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.18. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $384.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.50 million. On average, equities analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. H&E Equipment Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HEES. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 108.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $134,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HEES shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.33.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.

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