H & E Equipment Services Stock Price, News & Analysis

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEES), doing business as H&E Rentals, is an equipment rental company in the Other Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment Rental and Leasing industry within the Real Estate and Rental and Leasing sector. Founded in 1961, H&E is described in company and transaction communications as one of the largest rental equipment companies in the United States.

According to H&E’s public disclosures, the company’s rental fleet is comprised of aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, and other general and specialty lines. These assets are used to support customers across what H&E characterizes as a diverse set of end markets. The company notes that it operates in many high‑growth geographies and maintains branches across multiple U.S. regions, including the Pacific Northwest, West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast, Midwest, and Mid‑Atlantic regions.

H&E states that it focuses on equipment rental revenues, supported by a large owned rental fleet measured by original equipment cost. Its public earnings releases discuss metrics such as rental revenues, sales of rental equipment, sales of new equipment, gross margins, time utilization, dollar utilization and average rental rates. These disclosures indicate that H&E’s business model centers on renting equipment from its fleet, managing utilization and fleet age, and selectively selling rental and new equipment as part of its operations.

The company’s communications also highlight an ongoing branch expansion strategy, with references to new branch openings in recent periods. These openings, combined with existing operations, are described as enabling H&E to compete for new business opportunities across its geographic footprint. H&E’s rental fleet is characterized by the company as including both general and specialty lines, which provides flexibility to serve different types of projects and customer needs within its chosen markets.

H&E is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as indicated in company press releases. The company’s shares trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol HEES. In multiple public communications, H&E emphasizes its identity as a rental equipment company and references its history dating back to 1961.

Pending acquisition by Herc Holdings Inc.

H&E has entered into a merger agreement with Herc Holdings Inc., which operates through its Herc Rentals Inc. subsidiary. Under this agreement, Herc commenced a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of H&E common stock. Subsequent news releases report that the tender offer has been conducted and extended several times, and that a substantial percentage of H&E shares have been tendered.

In a joint announcement, Herc Holdings and H&E reported the expiration of the tender offer and stated that all conditions to the offer were satisfied or waived and that the merger subsidiary accepted for payment all H&E shares validly tendered and not validly withdrawn. The same announcement explains that, following closing, Herc, the merger subsidiary and H&E expect to consummate a merger in which the merger subsidiary will merge with and into H&E. As described in that communication, H&E will become a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Herc, and H&E shares will cease trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market as a result of the offer and the merger.

H&E’s own press releases refer to this transaction as a pending merger with Herc Holdings Inc. and discuss transaction‑related expenses in connection with the planned combination. The company also notes that it has adjusted certain non‑GAAP financial measures to exclude merger‑related transaction expenses.

Business performance metrics discussed by H&E

In its earnings releases, H&E provides detail on total revenues, equipment rental revenues, rental revenues, sales of rental equipment, and sales of new equipment. The company also discusses:

• Gross profit and gross margin at the consolidated level and by segment (including total equipment rentals and rental margins).
• Time utilization, based on original equipment cost, which reflects how intensively the rental fleet is used over a period.
• Dollar utilization, which compares rental revenues to the original cost of the rental fleet.
• Average rental rates, including period‑over‑period changes.
• Average rental fleet age, compared to an industry average age cited in the company’s disclosures.

H&E also reports Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses, including the portion attributable to branches opened or acquired during recent periods. The company explains that SG&A as a percentage of revenues is influenced by factors such as employee‑related costs, facilities expenses, professional fees and depreciation and amortization.

Use of non‑GAAP financial measures

H&E’s public filings and press releases describe several non‑GAAP financial measures that the company uses to evaluate its performance. These include:

• EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).
• Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin, which adjust EBITDA for non‑cash stock‑based compensation and specified non‑recurring items such as transaction expenses or goodwill impairment, as applicable.
• Adjusted income from operations, Adjusted net income and Adjusted net income per share, which exclude certain non‑recurring items identified by the company.

H&E explains that these measures are used internally to evaluate business performance, develop budgets and compare results across periods, while also noting the limitations of non‑GAAP measures and providing reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in accompanying financial tables.

Geographic footprint and end markets

H&E states that it serves a diverse set of end markets and operates in many high‑growth geographies. The company identifies its branch network as spanning the Pacific Northwest, West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast, Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic regions of the United States. This footprint supports the distribution and servicing of its rental fleet and related activities described in its public communications.

Status of HEES stock

Based on joint communications by Herc Holdings and H&E, the tender offer to acquire H&E shares has been completed, with a majority of shares tendered and accepted for payment, and the parties have indicated that they expect to close the acquisition and complete the merger. Those communications state that, as a result of the offer and the merger, H&E will become a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Herc and H&E shares will cease trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Investors reviewing HEES should consider that these statements describe a transaction process that affects the trading status and corporate structure of H&E.