H&E Equipment Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of H&E Equipment Services (NAS: HEES) rose 15% today after the company released earnings.

So what: In the fourth quarter, revenue grew 24% to $217 million, crushing the $182.9 million analysts had expected. That translated to strong bottom-line profit as earnings per share rose to $0.23, well ahead of $0.08 estimates.

Now what: The distribution business and new equipment sales drove the earnings beat in the quarter. The company's exposure to the oil and gas industry has helped drive results and should continue to help in the future. Analysts are only expecting $0.62 in earnings per share in 2012, and after this strong quarter, I wouldn't be surprised to see those expectations go up considerably in the future.

Interested in more info on H&E Equipment Services? Add it to your watchlist byclicking here.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.