Herc (NYSE:HRI) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $181.93 and last traded at $180.04, with a volume of 72080 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Herc from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Herc from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.75.

Herc Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $151.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.07.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.33 million. Herc had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 26.99%. Herc's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total value of $925,713.63. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Tamir Peres sold 5,821 shares of Herc stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.03, for a total transaction of $925,713.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,632,047.45. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Aaron Birnbaum sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.71, for a total value of $1,467,100.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 38,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,609,016.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Herc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Herc by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,898,147 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $431,505,000 after buying an additional 60,715 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Herc by 172.4% in the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 5,878 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Herc by 2.1% in the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 22,982 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,868,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Herc during the first quarter worth $960,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Herc by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,947 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

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.