Short Interest in H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) Declines By 7.3%

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the November 15th total of 1,240,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 275,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

H&E Equipment Services Stock Performance

Shares of HEES stock traded down $0.86 on Monday, reaching $55.03. The stock had a trading volume of 170,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,538. H&E Equipment Services has a 12 month low of $40.92 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.80.

H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $384.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $388.18 million. H&E Equipment Services had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that H&E Equipment Services will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

Institutional Trading of H&E Equipment Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 104.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,410,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,304,000 after acquiring an additional 721,270 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 779,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,925,000 after purchasing an additional 21,805 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 755,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,762,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,842,000 after purchasing an additional 41,749 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in H&E Equipment Services by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 338,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,500,000 after buying an additional 16,681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of H&E Equipment Services in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, H&E Equipment Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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.