United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Seventeen analysts give United Rentals a "Moderate Buy" consensus (13 buys, 3 holds, 1 sell) with an average 12-month price target of about $986 and several firms recently raising targets up to $1,209.
• Earnings and capital actions: United Rentals missed the quarter (EPS $9.71 vs. $11.47 est.; revenue $3.99B vs. $4.20B est.) but the board approved a $5.0 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.
• Insider activity: Top executives sold a combined 26,088 shares (~$25.6M) in recent weeks, reducing insider ownership to 0.47% of the company.

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $986.3529.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on URI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial set a $1,209.00 price objective on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on United Rentals from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on United Rentals from $850.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total value of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. This represents a 18.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,227,362. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock worth $25,628,877 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $924.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $802.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $840.07. United Rentals has a fifty-two week low of $645.18 and a fifty-two week high of $1,021.47. The company has a market cap of $57.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.83.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.56% and a net margin of 15.32%.The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals will post 46.99 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc NYSE: URI is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company's product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.

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