Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Position in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI) by 58.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 250,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 350,438 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.88% of Herc worth $47,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Herc in the fourth quarter worth $183,786,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Herc in the fourth quarter valued at $71,211,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Herc in the 4th quarter worth about $62,982,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 578.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 231,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $43,760,000 after purchasing an additional 197,082 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Herc by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,321,000 after purchasing an additional 82,834 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Herc Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRI opened at $122.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Herc Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $114.74 and a one year high of $246.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.93.

Herc (NYSE:HRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The transportation company reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.40). Herc had a return on equity of 26.48% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $934.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $919.84 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Herc Holdings Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Herc Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Herc’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Herc’s dividend payout ratio is 37.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Herc from $234.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Herc in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Herc has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.20.

Herc 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.