H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 research report on Friday, February 23rd.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Up 4.2 %

H&E Equipment Services stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.62. 386,472 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,600. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. H&E Equipment Services has a 52 week low of $33.65 and a 52 week high of $66.18.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. H&E Equipment Services’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that H&E Equipment Services will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at H&E Equipment Services

In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total transaction of $555,747.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at $12,896,740.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $555,747.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at $12,896,740.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,900 shares of H&E Equipment Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.41, for a total transaction of $114,779.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 244,753 shares in the company, valued at $14,785,528.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $62,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $278,000. Finally, Busey Bank bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. 84.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.