Herc (NYSE:HRI) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $200.04, but opened at $172.67. Herc shares last traded at $170.09, with a volume of 433,988 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Herc Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.41.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $919.84 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.35% and a net margin of 10.09%. On average, research analysts forecast that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRI. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 435.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,419,015 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $268,662,000 after buying an additional 1,154,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Herc during the 4th quarter worth approximately $183,786,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Herc by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,245,168 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $235,748,000 after purchasing an additional 508,359 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,211,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,982,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Herc Company Profile

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.