United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $753.64.

URI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI opened at $698.39 on Friday. United Rentals has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $669.10 and its 200 day moving average is $689.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.15 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $695,716,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 77,674.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887,407 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $556,138,000 after purchasing an additional 886,266 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth about $402,291,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 98.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,093,805 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $685,488,000 after acquiring an additional 541,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $330,989,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

About United Rentals

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.