United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded United Rentals from “Buy” to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $1,230.88.
• United Rentals reported quarterly earnings of $12.76 per share, beating estimates by $1.23, while revenue rose 11.8% year over year to $4.41 billion.
• The stock opened at $986.88, down 0.2%, with a market capitalization of $61.43 billion; institutional investors own approximately 96.26% of outstanding shares.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $1,170.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded United Rentals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised United Rentals from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $1,320.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,230.88.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $986.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $61.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. United Rentals has a 12-month low of $701.59 and a 12-month high of $1,179.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,076.70 and its 200-day moving average is $966.06.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 48.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. This trade represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in United Rentals by 110,181.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 110,282,310 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $124,937,726,000 after buying an additional 110,182,309 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter worth $5,816,326,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $978,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $944,196,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $716,129,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, commercial, government and residential customers. The company provides access to a broad range of equipment without requiring customers to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental offerings include aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, trench-safety products and traffic-control equipment.

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