SFE Investment Counsel Has $2.55 Million Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

SFE Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,451 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in United Rentals were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of URI. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1,900.0% during the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $589.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:URI traded down $3.34 on Thursday, hitting $632.88. 499,227 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,156. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $325.15 and a 1 year high of $732.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $680.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $569.06. The company has a market cap of $42.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.84.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. This is a boost from United Rentals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.