United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $925.5882.

Several research firms have commented on URI. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price objective on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This trade represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optas LLC raised its position in United Rentals by 0.9% during the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% during the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Gleason Group Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $710.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $850.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $872.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $11.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that United Rentals will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.