H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) Trading Down 6.6% on Disappointing Earnings

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)’s share price fell 6.6% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $44.90 and last traded at $45.12. 362,037 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 57% from the average session volume of 230,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.29.

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 return on equity of 36.72% and a net margin of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $371.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. H&E Equipment Services’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

H&E Equipment Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HEES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on H&E Equipment Services from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded H&E Equipment Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,896,740.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other H&E Equipment Services news, CEO Bradley W. Barber sold 9,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.80, for a total value of $555,747.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 223,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,896,740.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence C. Karlson sold 8,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.98, for a total transaction of $501,560.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,876,548.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 75,800 shares of company stock worth $4,534,789. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Busey Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $321,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 31.6% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

H&E Equipment Services Stock 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.95.

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.