Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of H&E Equipment Services Put Options (NASDAQ:HEES)

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,308 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,096% compared to the typical daily volume of 193 put options.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HEES opened at $89.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.88. H&E Equipment Services has a fifty-two week low of $40.92 and a fifty-two week high of $90.66. 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 (NASDAQ:HEES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $384.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.18 million. H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 25.46%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 755,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $542,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $545,000. Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,217,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 779,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,925,000 after purchasing an additional 21,805 shares during the last quarter. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.