McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $127.09 and last traded at $128.8970, with a volume of 87,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $113.75 and its 200-day moving average is $113.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The firm had revenue of $274.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.25 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current year.

McGrath RentCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $0.4950 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. McGrath RentCorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.51%.

Insider Transactions at McGrath RentCorp

In related news, VP John Skenesky sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.41, for a total value of $240,820.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,439.94. This trade represents a 15.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Philip B. Hawkins sold 4,435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.91, for a total transaction of $536,235.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 13,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,687.61. The trade was a 24.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,935 shares of company stock worth $1,639,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the second quarter worth approximately $252,840,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 906,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,019,000 after buying an additional 47,451 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 39.2% in the second quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 330,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,025,000 after acquiring an additional 93,196 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in McGrath RentCorp during the 2nd quarter worth $35,716,921. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the second quarter worth about $25,451,883. 92.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McGrath RentCorp

McGrath RentCorp was a business-to-business rental company that provided modular buildings, portable storage, electronic test equipment and related products. Its modular building offerings served customers needing temporary or permanent space, including classrooms, offices, healthcare facilities and other commercial or institutional applications.

Through brands such as Mobile Modular, the company rented relocatable buildings and portable storage units, while its TRS-RenTelco business provided electronic test and measurement equipment to telecommunications, electronics, aerospace, defense and other industrial customers.