Xponance Inc. Sells 173 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,169 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $5,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of URI. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1,900.0% during the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on United Rentals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $589.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.7 %

United Rentals stock opened at $628.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.75. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $325.15 and a one year high of $732.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $679.93 and its 200 day moving average is $570.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.74 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Profile

United Rentals, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities.