Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 281.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,162 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in United Rentals during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 650.0% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on URI shares. UBS Group raised 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 reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $965.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $925.59.

United Rentals Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:URI opened at $743.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $1,021.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $864.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $878.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). The firm 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%. United Rentals’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.97 dividend. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

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

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

United Rentals Profile

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.