Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) Stake Boosted by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,907 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Herc were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Herc by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,270 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Herc by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 21,126 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,000,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Herc by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 102,440 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,474,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Herc by 13.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,724 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 11,945 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Herc by 117.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 116,512 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,739,000 after purchasing an additional 62,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $201.12 on Thursday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.70 and a 52 week high of $246.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $207.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.01.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.48 by ($0.13). Herc had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 26.35%. The firm had revenue of $965.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Herc Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Herc’s payout ratio is presently 21.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Herc

In other news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.83, for a total transaction of $810,260.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,876,424.42. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $1,065,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,600,408.32. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Herc from $204.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.75.

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.