McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Trading Up 4%

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) shares were up 4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.44 and last traded at $103.29. Approximately 196,048 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 231,243 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of McGrath RentCorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.76.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $212.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.23 million. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McGrath RentCorp will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

McGrath RentCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 17th. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in McGrath RentCorp during the 1st quarter valued at $84,042,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,950,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in McGrath RentCorp by 3,216.2% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 248,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,767,000 after buying an additional 241,340 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 82.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 385,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,619,000 after purchasing an additional 174,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

About McGrath RentCorp

McGrath RentCorp operates as a business to business rental company in the United States and internationally. It rents and sells relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, and electronic test equipment. The company operates through four segments: Mobile Modular, Portable Storage, TRS-RenTelco, and Enviroplex.