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

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $914.8824.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on URI shares. KeyCorp set a $950.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $970.00 to $850.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price for the company in a report on Sunday, January 4th.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $777.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $797.06 and a 200 day moving average of $846.99. United Rentals has a fifty-two week low of $557.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,021.47.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $11.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total value of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in United Rentals by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,084 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its stake in United Rentals by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 41,551 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,862 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its stake in United Rentals by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,833 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,064,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uhlmann Price Securities LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.