United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,013.6250.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on URI shares. Barclays boosted their price target on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Rentals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $1,025.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,030.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total transaction of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total value of $2,374,758.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,227,362. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in URI. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in United Rentals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 185.2% in the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 154 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Rentals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,769 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,589,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in United Rentals by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Rentals Trading Up 6.6%

United Rentals stock opened at $1,060.93 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $872.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $849.10. The company has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.81. United Rentals has a 52-week low of $682.08 and a 52-week high of $1,067.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that United Rentals will post 47.07 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.