United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $804.15.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on URI shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on United Rentals from $940.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on United Rentals from $985.00 to $835.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th.

United Rentals Price Performance

Shares of URI opened at $627.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $686.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $755.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $585.27 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The company has a market cap of $40.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.76.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $11.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.65 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. As a group, analysts predict that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 18.48%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total value of $701,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,390,128. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,564,722,000 after buying an additional 323,636 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in United Rentals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,115,142,000 after acquiring an additional 20,401 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in United Rentals by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $880,778,000 after purchasing an additional 172,340 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $770,199,000 after purchasing an additional 97,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $740,624,000 after purchasing an additional 305,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

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.