Zacks Research Downgrades Herc (NYSE:HRI) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Herc (NYSE:HRI) from a "hold" to a strong sell, signaling increased analyst concern about the stock.
• Several major brokers (KeyCorp, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan) have cut price targets and the analyst mix is mixed (six Buys, one Hold, two Sells) resulting in a consensus "Hold" with a target of $157.71.
• Herc opened near $100, has a market cap of $3.34B, a negative PE (-556.68) and high debt-to-equity (4.17); it recently beat EPS expectations but posted barely positive margins and slightly missed revenue estimates.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on HRI. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $190.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Herc in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $189.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.71.

Herc Price Performance

NYSE:HRI opened at $100.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of -556.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 1.81. Herc has a 12 month low of $88.45 and a 12 month high of $188.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $125.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.82.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The transportation company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.20. Herc had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,527 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $179,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Herc by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 51,588 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,655,000 after buying an additional 24,099 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP raised its holdings in Herc by 667.9% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 573,149 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $85,044,000 after buying an additional 498,511 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Company Profile

Herc Holdings Inc NYSE: HRI operates as a leading equipment rental provider in North America, offering a wide range of machinery and support services to construction, industrial, government and event sectors. The company's fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling solutions, power generation units and specialty tools, enabling clients to scale their operations without the capital expense of ownership. In addition to basic machinery rentals, Herc provides value-added services such as equipment maintenance, on-site safety training and project consulting to help customers optimize productivity and maintain compliance with industry standards.

Founded as part of Hertz Global Holdings, the equipment rental business was spun off as an independent public company in early 2016.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.