Once-troubled rental car company Hertz is an easy triple just waiting to happen, according to Jana Partners Barry Rosenstein.
Multi-billionaire Barry Rosenstein, whose hedge fund controls more than 8% of the rental car company, spoke on Thursday at the EnTrust Investment Summit in New York. According to an anonymous Bloomberg source who attended the swanky private event, Rosenstein said he expects Hertz to report financials by early summer that would give the firm the leeway it needs to begin a share repurchase program. The sources noted that Rosenstein said the company could eventually repurchase up to 20% of outstanding shares.
Jana Partners had no comment, and Hertz spokesman Richard Broome did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
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Florida-based Hertz has been under pressure from activist shareholder hedge funds such as Rosenstein, Daniel Loeb and billionaire Carl Icahn for a while now. These activists argue that mangement could do much more to unlock shareholder value.
More than 53% of the company is currently controlled by hedge fund firms, according to recent Bloomberg data. Jana Partners has owned a significant number of Hertz shares since early in 2014.
Of note, relating to an accounting scandal reported the summer of last year, Hertz has not yet reported financial results in 2014 and has told investors there could be irregularities with its financial statements as far back as 2011.
The share price of the well known rental car concern is off 14% so far in 2015. Teams of forensic accountants are still reconciling the firm’s books, and no firm date for filing 2014 results has been given.
The Bloomberg source also noted that Rosenstein commented that after the share repurchase program was in full swing Hertz could easily double its earnings per share over the next couple of years and the stock could triple.
