United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $1,020.00 to $1,195.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Rentals traded as high as $1,118.11 and last traded at $1,129.7740, with a volume of 35154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,083.72.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,030.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,070.50.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,823,708.90. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gleason Group Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $972.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $877.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.81.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The company had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.26 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

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