Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Declines By 7.3%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the November 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 275,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HEES. CWM LLC raised its position in H&E Equipment Services by 42.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 688.1% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 18,215 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 10.2% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 23,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 2,168 shares during the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the 2nd quarter worth $957,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 275,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,163,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of H&E Equipment Services stock opened at $54.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64. H&E Equipment Services has a 52-week low of $40.92 and a 52-week high of $66.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.84.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.15). H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm had revenue of $384.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $388.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. H&E Equipment Services’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is 27.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, H&E Equipment Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

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.