Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $183.48, but opened at $194.28. Herc shares last traded at $196.19, with a volume of 85,358 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $219.75.

Herc Stock Up 9.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.06. The business's 50-day moving average is $208.53 and its 200-day moving average is $172.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a return on equity of 26.35% and a net margin of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.00 EPS. Herc's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.59 EPS for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Herc's payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Herc news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.83, for a total value of $810,260.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,876,424.42. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total value of $1,065,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,600,408.32. This trade represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Herc

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Herc by 300.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 749 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 94.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,785 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Herc by 1,230.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 21,522 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,869,000 after buying an additional 19,904 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Herc during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,577,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Herc by 109.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,161 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 5,827 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently 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.