United Rentals (NYSE:URI) PT Raised to $790.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $718.00 to $790.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas reiterated an underperform rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an equal weight rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $589.21.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $655.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals has a 52-week low of $325.15 and a 52-week high of $732.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $680.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.14.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. United Rentals’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 43.05 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after acquiring an additional 186,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,399,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,669,806,000 after buying an additional 1,799,997 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $624,121,000 after buying an additional 170,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $977,443,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $569,394,000 after buying an additional 39,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

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.