Oppenheimer Reaffirms "Market Perform" Rating for United Rentals (NYSE:URI)

Oppenheimer reissued their market perform rating on shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports.

URI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Up 3.2 %

NYSE:URI traded up $21.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $712.62. 604,917 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,248. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $681.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $580.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Rentals has a fifty-two week low of $325.15 and a fifty-two week high of $732.37. The firm has a market cap of $47.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.84.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 43.54 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.