United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $725.69.

URI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,000.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cfra Research upgraded United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of United Rentals stock traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $631.64. The company had a trading volume of 570,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,610. The company's 50-day moving average is $612.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $723.24. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.72.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,748 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,478,697.44. This represents a 11.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,221,228 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,564,722,000 after purchasing an additional 323,636 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Rentals by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,587,203 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,115,142,000 after buying an additional 20,401 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in United Rentals by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,250,324 shares of the construction company's stock worth $880,778,000 after buying an additional 172,340 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,093,350 shares of the construction company's stock worth $770,199,000 after acquiring an additional 97,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,051,365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $740,624,000 after acquiring an additional 305,491 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.