Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 62,883 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Herc were worth $19,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HRI. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Herc by 15,137.8% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,812 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp raised its holdings in Herc by 265.6% in the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp now owns 9,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 6,926 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 1,230.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 21,522 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 19,904 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new position in shares of Herc during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,556,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 369.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 343 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other Herc news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.83, for a total transaction of $810,260.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,774 shares in the company, valued at $2,876,424.42. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total value of $1,065,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three 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.com, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.75.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of HRI stock opened at $183.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $210.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.44. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.70 and a 12-month high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 26.35%. The company had revenue of $965.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

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.