H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) saw a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a drop of 18.4% from the February 13th total of 2,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 968,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HEES traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,904. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 1.94. H&E Equipment Services has a 1-year low of $40.93 and a 1-year high of $101.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $384.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.50 million. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in H&E Equipment Services by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter worth approximately $84,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 227.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter worth $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HEES shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.33.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

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.