Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 27,870 Shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI - Free Report) by 1,067.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,482 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,870 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Herc worth $5,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Herc by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,907 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Herc by 369.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 343 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Herc by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 665,904 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 324.6% in the 3rd quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 14,346 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,287,000 after buying an additional 10,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Herc by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,863 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,211,000 after buying an additional 17,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company's stock.

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Herc Price Performance

HRI traded down $4.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $129.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 143,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,432. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $187.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.80. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.70 and a 12 month high of $246.88.

Herc (NYSE:HRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $919.84 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Herc's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.