We recently published a list of Why These 15 Industrial Stocks Are up the Most So Far in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) stands against other industrial stocks that are up the most so far in 2025.

Industrial stocks are sensitive to the economic cycle. Many of them have already fallen victim to the downturn and have reversed much of their earlier gains from the past few years. However, 2025 is shaping up to be a breakout year for industrial stocks elsewhere. The industrial sector is very broad, and you’ll always find winners that outpace expectations and draw the attention of investors who once overlooked these workhorse companies.

Manufacturing and industrial firms have doubled down on digital transformation and have poured resources into automation to boost efficiency. This investment is paying off as companies become more agile and better equipped to handle shocks, whether from geopolitical tensions, labor shortages, or shifting customer needs. It’s worth looking into the biggest winners so far this year, as they could continue building on the momentum.

Methodology

For this article, I screened the best-performing industrial stocks year-to-date.

I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

A crane rental operator loading parts onto a construction site in an industrial area.

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 14

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) is one of the largest equipment rental companies in the United States, serving the construction and industrial sectors with a broad range of rental equipment and related services.

The overwhelming reason for H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)’s stock surge in 2025 is the February announcement that Herc Holdings will acquire H&E in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $104.89 per share, representing a substantial premium to the pre-announcement price. This news sent the stock soaring by more than 80% in a matter of days, with shares reaching an all-time high of $101.28 on February 18, 2025.

The deal followed H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES)’s termination of a prior agreement with United Rentals after Herc submitted a superior offer, ultimately valuing H&E at $5.3 billion.

The merger is expected to generate $300 million in annual EBITDA synergies and will make Herc the third-largest rental company in North America. The only other notable event was H&E’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings, reported in late February, which showed flat revenue and a 5.6% decline in adjusted EBITDA, but this was overshadowed by the acquisition news.

The stock is up significantly so far in 2025.

The consensus price target of $71.3 implies 20.1% downside.

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEES) stock is up 82.97% year-to-date.

Overall, HEES ranks 4th on our list of industrial stocks that are up the most so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of HEES as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HEES but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

 

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

 

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.