Herc (NYSE:HRI) Trading Down 6.1% on Disappointing Earnings

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) shares dropped 6.1% during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $197.22 and last traded at $195.18. Approximately 167,488 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 282,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.86.

The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 26.35%. The company had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $919.84 million.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $219.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Herc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Herc by 878.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 186 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Herc by 646.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 224 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Herc by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Herc by 27.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 281 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Herc by 70.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 322 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Herc Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.04. The company's fifty day moving average price is $198.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.01.

Herc Company Profile

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.