H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the October 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 287,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HEES opened at $58.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $40.92 and a 52-week high of $66.18.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.15). H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $384.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. H&E Equipment Services’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 27.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HEES shares. UBS Group dropped their target price 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 began coverage on H&E Equipment Services in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the second quarter worth $109,000. 84.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.