Short Interest in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Rises By 61.4%

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 61.4% from the February 13th total of 954,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 436,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Herc Stock Up 5.9 %

NYSE:HRI traded up $7.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $129.46. 527,103 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,255. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $178.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.14. Herc has a 1 year low of $119.60 and a 1 year high of $246.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $934.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $919.84 million. Analysts predict that Herc will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc’s payout ratio is currently 37.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Herc presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRI. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Herc by 187.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,303 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 70.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 1.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 13,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 5.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 3.8% in the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

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.