SIR Capital Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Key Points

• SIR Capital Management boosted its stake in United Rentals by 220.6% in the fourth quarter, ending with 10,580 shares valued at about $8.6 million.
• Other institutional investors were also active in URI, with firms like Capital International Investors, Capital World Investors, Franklin Resources, and Norges Bank increasing holdings; overall, 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish: United Rentals has a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $1,045.81, even though the company recently posted earnings and revenue that missed estimates.

SIR Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 220.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,580 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 7,280 shares during the period. SIR Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in United Rentals were worth $8,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in United Rentals by 22.8% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,247,762,000 after buying an additional 631,484 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in United Rentals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,708,877 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,192,357,000 after buying an additional 30,263 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,343,981 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,087,711,000 after buying an additional 28,895 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $978,017,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,088,209 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,038,870,000 after buying an additional 57,977 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,025.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,101.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Rentals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,045.81.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 548 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $977.86, for a total value of $535,867.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,823,708.90. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total transaction of $292,226.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.7%

URI stock opened at $1,076.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $682.08 and a one year high of $1,106.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $920.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $862.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.26 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals's payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc NYSE: URI is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company's product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.

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