Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Up 23.7% in March

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Currently, 8.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 527,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of HRI stock traded up $1.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.70. 593,342 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,744. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. Herc has a fifty-two week low of $109.39 and a fifty-two week high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The company had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s payout ratio is 37.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HRI. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Herc by 646.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Herc by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Herc in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Herc by 54.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 368 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Company Profile

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.