Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $200.04, but opened at $172.67. Herc shares last traded at $170.09, with a volume of 433,988 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.75.

Herc Stock Down 8.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $195.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 2.04. 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 (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 26.48%. The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Herc's payout ratio is currently 37.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRI. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,182 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $183,786,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Herc by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $235,748,000 after acquiring an additional 508,359 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,211,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,982,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.