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

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $925.5882.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on URI shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Sunday, January 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $950.00 target price on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in United Rentals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,932 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $20,178,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in United Rentals by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 45,315 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,675,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,846,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:URI opened at $880.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $1,021.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $863.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $889.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

About United Rentals

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.