United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

United Rentals (NYSE:URI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Thursday, September 24th, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,323.00 price objective on the construction company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 32.20% from the stock’s current price.

URI has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $1,335.00 price target on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 price objective on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,243.63.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI opened at $1,000.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. United Rentals has a one year low of $701.59 and a one year high of $1,179.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,065.97 and a 200 day moving average of $984.48.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.47 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 48.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total value of $1,699,725.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at $6,869,155.30. The trade was 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in United Rentals during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,765,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 95,940 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,666,000 after buying an additional 15,696 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the second quarter valued at approximately $944,196,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 69,583 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,855,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.