The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Herc (NYSE:HRI) Stock Price

Herc (NYSE:HRI) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $204.00 to $234.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

HRI has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Herc currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.75.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of HRI opened at $207.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.02. Herc has a 12-month low of $124.70 and a 12-month high of $246.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $208.32 and its 200-day moving average is $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a return on equity of 26.35% and a net margin of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Herc will post 13.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

Insider Activity at Herc

In other Herc news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 3,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.83, for a total value of $810,260.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,876,424.42. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $1,065,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,600,408.32. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HRI. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Herc in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,996,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 18.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 561,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $74,908,000 after buying an additional 87,330 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,739,000 after buying an additional 62,883 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Herc by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 736,809 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $117,470,000 after buying an additional 56,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 145.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 91,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,624,000 after acquiring an additional 54,400 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.