Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Grows By 5.6%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the December 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 265,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on HEES shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, H&E Equipment Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 7.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 3.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $810,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 100,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,896,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 45,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HEES opened at $87.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.93 and its 200-day moving average is $54.66. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 1.93. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $40.92 and a 52-week high of $90.66.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

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.