H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Short Interest Down 27.3% in February

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,340,000 shares, a decrease of 27.3% from the January 31st total of 3,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 892,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 7.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ HEES traded down $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $93.85. 1,140,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,930. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.68. H&E Equipment Services has a 1 year low of $40.93 and a 1 year high of $101.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82 and a beta of 1.93.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.18. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $384.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.50 million. On average, equities analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

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H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. H&E Equipment Services's payout ratio is 32.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HEES. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 227.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,749 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. 84.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About H&E Equipment Services

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.