United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $742.50.

A number of brokerages recently commented on URI. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on United Rentals from $565.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on United Rentals from $930.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Rentals from $790.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

United Rentals Stock Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $861.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $789.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $718.04. United Rentals has a fifty-two week low of $435.80 and a fifty-two week high of $888.62. The firm has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.82.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.73% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 43.66 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 17.03%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total transaction of $740,916.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,682,702.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of URI. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 339 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 378 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 5,352 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 900 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 844 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Rentals

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.