Short Interest in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Rises By 23.7%

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 527,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Herc Trading Down 5.1 %

HRI traded down $6.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $111.66. 639,785 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,892. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.48. Herc has a 1 year low of $108.31 and a 1 year high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. The company had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. As a group, analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s payout ratio is presently 37.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

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

About Herc

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.