Norges Bank Takes Position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 970,716 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $183,786,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 3.42% of Herc as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Herc by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,829 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Herc by 4.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Herc by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 21,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Herc by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 460 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Herc by 54.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 368 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HRI opened at $138.91 on Monday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.60 and a 12-month high of $246.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.32. 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 company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.14.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. On average, research analysts expect that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. 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 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Herc’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HRI. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Herc in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.20.

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.