BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys New Stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,458 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,359,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 435.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the fourth quarter worth about $183,786,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Herc by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $235,748,000 after purchasing an additional 508,359 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,211,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Herc during the 4th quarter worth $62,982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday. 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.com, Herc presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.20.

Herc Trading Down 2.8 %

Herc stock traded down $3.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,394. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.19 and a 1-year high of $246.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $130.80 and its 200 day moving average is $178.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($1.21). The company had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.67 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc's payout ratio is 37.79%.

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.