Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes Position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 225,780 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,996,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRI. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Herc by 185.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 170,649 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,720,000 after purchasing an additional 110,922 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Herc by 18.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 561,995 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $74,908,000 after purchasing an additional 87,330 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Herc by 145.7% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 91,725 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $14,624,000 after buying an additional 54,400 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Herc in the 1st quarter valued at $8,667,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Herc by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,936,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $494,288,000 after buying an additional 38,798 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Herc from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Herc in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on Herc from $175.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Herc from $178.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.25.

Insider Activity at Herc

In other news, Director Michael A. Kelly sold 3,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Samuel Wade Sheek sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $1,065,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,600,408.32. This represents a 18.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,880 shares of company stock valued at $3,342,960 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Herc Price Performance

Shares of Herc stock opened at $217.67 on Friday. Herc Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.08 and a 1-year high of $246.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $179.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.02.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The transportation company reported $4.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $965.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.33 million. Herc had a return on equity of 26.35% and a net margin of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 13.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.