United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives $744.31 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $765.07.

URI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded United Rentals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cfra Research upgraded United Rentals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $705.00 to $666.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup decreased their price target on United Rentals from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total transaction of $499,748.88. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 788 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,794 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 749 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust increased its position in United Rentals by 1.1% in the first quarter. American Trust now owns 1,242 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Rentals Stock Up 1.0%

URI opened at $702.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $634.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $708.40. The company has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals has a 1 year low of $525.91 and a 1 year high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.98.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.54%.

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.