United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Stock Price Down 4.8% - Time to Sell?

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) fell 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $786.70 and last traded at $750.00. 342,797 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 586,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $787.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cfra Research raised shares of United Rentals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of United Rentals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $702.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $766.23.

United Rentals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $700.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $682.97. 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 (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $313,627,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $649,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its position in United Rentals by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,114 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth $602,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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