United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives $584.07 Average PT from Brokerages

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $589.21.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on URI shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after buying an additional 186,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,399,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,669,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799,997 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $624,121,000 after acquiring an additional 170,958 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $977,443,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $569,394,000 after purchasing an additional 39,917 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI stock opened at $636.21 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $680.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $568.62. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $325.15 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.74 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 18.44%.

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.