Stifel Nicolaus Cuts H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Price Target to $65.00

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) had its price objective trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $69.00 to $65.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on HEES. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on H&E Equipment Services from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of H&E Equipment Services from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Down 0.9 %

HEES stock opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.19. H&E Equipment Services has a 52 week low of $32.33 and a 52 week high of $66.18. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.98.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $371.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.52 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 11.17%. H&E Equipment Services’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. H&E Equipment Services’s payout ratio is 23.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total value of $281,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 59,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,332,567.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 1,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.42, for a total transaction of $69,254.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 209,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,259,726.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary W. Bagley sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.34, for a total value of $281,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 59,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,567.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,534,789 in the last 90 days. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 89,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,870,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 66,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. 84.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.