H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

HEES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:HEES traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $46.65. The company had a trading volume of 446,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,937. H&E Equipment Services has a 1 year low of $32.33 and a 1 year high of $66.18. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average of $52.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). H&E Equipment Services had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 34.33%. The firm had revenue of $371.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

Insider Activity at H&E Equipment Services

In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 15,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.54, for a total transaction of $885,252.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 232,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,391,974.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.41, for a total transaction of $114,779.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 244,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,785,528.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 15,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.54, for a total value of $885,252.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 232,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,391,974.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,789 over the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the first quarter worth approximately $62,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. Busey Bank purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Company Profile

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.