Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,754 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of United Rentals worth $58,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $942.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $59.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $805.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $838.92. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $656.95 and a 1-year high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 46.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $903.00 price objective on United Rentals and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. KeyCorp upped their price target on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $986.35.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total value of $2,374,758.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares in the company, valued at $14,227,362. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.