Short Interest in McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Decreases By 34.6%

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a drop of 34.6% from the March 31st total of 1,850,000 shares. Currently, 5.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGRC traded up $2.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.71. The company had a trading volume of 210,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,899. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $119.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.41. McGrath RentCorp has a fifty-two week low of $86.26 and a fifty-two week high of $130.86.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $187.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.63 million. McGrath RentCorp had a return on equity of 13.56% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McGrath RentCorp will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 15th. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. McGrath RentCorp's payout ratio is 37.04%.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McGrath RentCorp during the first quarter worth $66,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in McGrath RentCorp by 4.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in McGrath RentCorp by 12.6% during the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 25,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in McGrath RentCorp during the fourth quarter worth $367,000. 92.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a research note on Saturday, April 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

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.

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