United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,070,000 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the April 30th total of 1,630,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 732,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,957.06. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total transaction of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This trade represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 241.7% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1,266.7% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 41 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $770.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $753.15.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $697.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.71. United Rentals has a 1-year low of $525.91 and a 1-year high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $647.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $699.03.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

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.