H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Shares Gap Down to $59.22

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.22, but opened at $52.96. H&E Equipment Services shares last traded at $48.03, with a volume of 284,397 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HEES has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $59.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.22.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $385.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $382.58 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 36.72% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that H&E Equipment Services, Inc. will post 5.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&E Equipment Services

In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total value of $69,254.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,078 shares in the company, valued at $13,259,726.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 11,483 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $728,251.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,170 shares in the company, valued at $13,328,981.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares in the company, valued at $13,259,726.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Penn Mutual Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the third quarter worth about $202,000. Busey Bank bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. bought a new stake in H&E Equipment Services in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About H&E Equipment Services

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.