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

StockNews.com cut shares of H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

HEES has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

H&E Equipment Services Price Performance

HEES stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.65. 446,492 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,937. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.19. H&E Equipment Services has a 12 month low of $32.33 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.98.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 11.17%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that H&E Equipment Services will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at H&E Equipment Services

In related news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,259,726.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 209,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,259,726.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 23,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.53, for a total transaction of $1,398,243.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 221,653 shares in the company, valued at $13,416,656.09. 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 Trading of H&E Equipment Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Penn Mutual Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Americana Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Busey Bank purchased a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter worth $206,000. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.