United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Stock Has Average Target Price of $1,243.62

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,239.19.

A number of research firms have weighed in on URI. Argus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $1,170.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of United Rentals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of URI opened at $1,080.15 on Friday. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $701.59 and a 12 month high of $1,179.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,061.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $993.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $67.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.83.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 48.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at $6,869,155.30. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of URI. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in United Rentals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 605 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in United Rentals by 0.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company provides construction, industrial, commercial, and homeowner customers with access to equipment without requiring them to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trench safety products, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, and general construction equipment. United Rentals also provides specialty services such as mobile storage, fluid solutions, power and HVAC support, and project-based equipment management.

Founded in 1997, United Rentals has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions into a large equipment-rental network serving customers primarily in the United States and Canada, with additional operations in Europe and Australia.