United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Plans $1.79 Quarterly Dividend

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of 1.79 per share by the construction company on Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th.

United Rentals has a dividend payout ratio of 15.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect United Rentals to earn $49.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.6%.

United Rentals Trading Up 1.4%

URI stock traded up $12.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $887.25. The stock had a trading volume of 586,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,649. The firm has a market cap of $57.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. United Rentals has a 12-month low of $525.91 and a 12-month high of $896.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $744.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $692.52.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $10.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.54 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on URI shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $835.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $865.00 to $960.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $974.00 to $921.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $920.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $812.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value of $688,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.86, for a total value of $499,748.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

An institutional investor recently raised its position in United Rentals stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,518 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in United Rentals were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.