If you’re staring at your screen wondering why the HTZ stock price today is hovering where it is, you’re not alone. Honestly, Hertz has been a rollercoaster that would make a theme park designer nervous. As of mid-January 2026, the stock has been trading around the $5.59 mark.
It’s a weird spot to be in.
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Just a few years ago, everyone thought the EV "revolution" would save the rental giant. Then, the reality of repair costs and resale values hit like a ton of bricks. Now, under the leadership of CEO Gil West—who you might remember from his days steering Delta Air Lines—Hertz is trying to remember how to be a "boring" profitable company again. It’s working, sort of.
The current state of the HTZ stock price today
Markets have been twitchy lately. On Friday, January 16, 2026, Hertz closed at $5.58, a tiny dip from its open. But zoom out a bit. The stock is actually up nearly 7% since the start of the year. Why? Because the "Back-to-Basics" strategy isn't just a corporate slogan anymore.
Investors are finally seeing some green.
In their last major financial update, Hertz pulled off something they hadn't done in two years: a positive EPS. They reported an adjusted EPS of $0.12, which absolutely crushed what the "experts" on Wall Street were predicting. Revenue is sitting at roughly $2.5 billion for the quarter.
But it’s not all sunshine and high-speed toll lanes.
Why the bulls are cautious
The company is still dragging around a massive mountain of debt. We’re talking over $10 billion in net debt. And then there’s the Supreme Court. Just recently, the court shot down Hertz’s attempt to avoid paying roughly $320 million in "make-whole" premiums to bondholders from their bankruptcy days.
That hurt.
The stock took a 2% hit the day that news broke. It’s those kinds of "legacy" issues that keep the price from really taking off, despite the fact that utilization—how often cars are actually out being rented—is at its highest level since 2018 (over 84%).
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The EV hangover is real
You can't talk about the HTZ stock price today without talking about the great Tesla retreat. Remember when Hertz promised to buy 100,000 Teslas? It sounded like a masterstroke.
It wasn't.
They’ve been aggressively dumping EVs because the maintenance costs were double what they expected. Not to mention, when Elon Musk started slashing Tesla prices, it tanked the resale value of Hertz’s entire fleet. That’s a brutal hit to the balance sheet.
Gil West is now pivoting back to internal combustion engines (ICE). It’s less "futuristic," but it's what people are actually renting. By focusing on "Buy Right, Hold Right, Sell Right," they’ve managed to get their depreciation per unit down to around $273 per month. That’s a key metric if you’re trying to figure out if this company is actually healthy.
Analyst perspectives: A mixed bag
Wall Street is basically shrugging. Out of the analysts tracking the stock right now, the vast majority have a "Hold" rating.
- Susquehanna recently bumped their price target from $4.00 to $7.00.
- Morgan Stanley is sitting way out on a limb with a $15.00 target.
- Goldman Sachs is much more bearish, with targets as low as $3.00.
The median target is currently around $6.67. That suggests there's some room for growth, but nobody is betting the house on it quite yet.
What’s coming next for investors?
The next big date to circle on your calendar is February 12, 2026. That’s when the Q4 2025 earnings are expected to drop. If they can show another quarter of positive earnings and prove that the EV sell-off is mostly behind them, we might see the stock finally break out of this $5 range.
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Honestly, the "Altman Z-Score" for the company is still in the "distress" zone. That sounds scary because it is. It basically means the risk of another bankruptcy isn't zero. But with $2.2 billion in liquidity, they have enough runway to try and complete this turnaround.
Actionable insights for your portfolio
If you’re looking at HTZ stock price today as a potential entry point, keep these three things in mind:
- Watch the Debt: Any news regarding debt restructuring or interest rate changes will move this stock more than a new rental location opening.
- Monitor the Fleet Mix: If the "Back-to-Basics" ICE strategy continues to drive up margins, the stock has legs.
- Earnings Volatility: This stock moves more than 5% on a regular basis. It is not for the faint of heart or those who can't handle a "bumpy" ride.
Keep a close eye on the February earnings call for updates on their $1,500 Revenue Per Unit (RPU) target. If they hit that, the current price might look like a bargain in hindsight. If they miss, expect the $5 floor to turn into a ceiling.
Check the latest SEC filings or the Hertz Investor Relations portal before making a final trade, as numbers in this sector can shift faster than a rental return on a Monday morning.