Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Update

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 527,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Approximately 8.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Herc by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,019 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Herc by 49.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,058 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,299,000 after purchasing an additional 17,236 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Herc by 117.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,512 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,739,000 after buying an additional 62,883 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Herc by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,724 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 11,945 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Herc by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 102,440 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,474,000 after buying an additional 2,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI traded down $4.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.23. The stock had a trading volume of 65,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 358,603. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. Herc has a 12-month low of $96.19 and a 12-month high of $246.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.75.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($1.21). The business had revenue of $861.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $841.67 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Herc's payout ratio is currently 37.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRI. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Herc from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Herc from $165.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Herc from $250.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $225.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $146.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Herc in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.20.

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.