United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $455.25.

URI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on United Rentals from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on United Rentals from $490.00 to $495.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on United Rentals from $458.00 to $527.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on United Rentals from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on United Rentals from $482.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th.

United Rentals Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $491.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $456.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.22. United Rentals has a 1 year low of $256.23 and a 1 year high of $492.33. The company has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The construction company reported $9.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.23 by $0.65. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.67% and a net margin of 17.34%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 40.6 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th were given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 8th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, COO Dale A. Asplund sold 14,157 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.27, for a total value of $6,728,397.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,379 shares in the company, valued at $3,031,747.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,931 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,383,296 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,506,819,000 after purchasing an additional 43,715 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 18.4% during the second quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,309,103 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,028,402,000 after purchasing an additional 358,743 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 10.0% in the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,109,218 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,382,000 after acquiring an additional 192,205 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2,080.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,850,311 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765,460 shares during the period. 89.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.