United Rentals (URI) Scheduled to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) will be announcing its earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $8.39 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to listen to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect United Rentals to post $43 EPS for the current fiscal year and $46 EPS for the next fiscal year.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $655.97 on Wednesday. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $325.15 and a twelve month high of $732.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $680.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $568.14.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on United Rentals in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $589.21.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of URI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $586,415,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in United Rentals by 104,089.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,341,964 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $476,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340,676 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in United Rentals by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 672,534 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $238,890,000 after acquiring an additional 221,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 170,958 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.