United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on URI. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,320.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,350.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $1,300.00 price objective on United Rentals in a report on Friday, July 24th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,239.19.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $1,056.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.83. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $1,058.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,002.86. United Rentals has a 1 year low of $701.59 and a 1 year high of $1,179.18.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 48.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the second quarter worth $5,816,326,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Rentals by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,993,837 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,391,688,000 after buying an additional 32,238 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $944,196,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $716,129,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 774,347 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $631,459,000 after acquiring an additional 29,675 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.