H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.67.

A number of research firms have weighed in on HEES. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

Shares of HEES stock opened at $51.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $38.06 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.54. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 1.84.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.12). H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The business had revenue of $376.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $382.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HEES. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 104.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,410,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,304,000 after buying an additional 721,270 shares in the last quarter. Loews Corp purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,742,000. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,046,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 200.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,899,000 after purchasing an additional 89,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,793,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc operates as an integrated equipment services company in the United States. The company operates in five segments: Equipment Rentals, Sales of Rental Equipment, Sales of New Equipment, Parts Sales, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Equipment Rentals segment provides construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.