Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on H&E Equipment Services (NASDAQ:HEES)

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,308 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,096% compared to the average volume of 193 put options.

H&E Equipment Services Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of H&E Equipment Services stock opened at $88.75 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.59. H&E Equipment Services has a 1 year low of $40.92 and a 1 year high of $90.66.

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

H&E Equipment Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. H&E Equipment Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&E Equipment Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 46,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,047,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 7.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of H&E Equipment Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,615 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in H&E Equipment Services by 3.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in H&E Equipment Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 100,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,896,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

About H&E Equipment Services

H&E Equipment Services, Inc engages in the provision of equipment services, which focus on heavy construction and industrial equipment. It operates through the following segments: Equipment Rentals, New Equipment Sales, Used Equipment Sales, Parts Sales, and Services. The Equipment Rentals segment focuses on renting construction and industrial equipment.