Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Short Interest Up 61.4% in February

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 61.4% from the February 13th total of 954,400 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 436,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Herc currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Herc by 693.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,001 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,651,000 after buying an additional 12,236 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,049,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Herc by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 105,571 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $19,988,000 after purchasing an additional 37,805 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 178.7% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 120,936 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $22,897,000 after buying an additional 77,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in Herc in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,987,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Herc Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE HRI traded up $4.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.96. The company had a trading volume of 499,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 310,575. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $176.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.18. 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 $119.60 and a 12 month high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The company had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $919.84 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.79%.

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.