United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Trading Up 7.9% Following Dividend Announcement

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 7.9% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $866.37 and last traded at $866.72. Approximately 483,564 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 657,308 shares. The stock had previously closed at $803.25.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. United Rentals's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on URI shares. UBS Group raised shares of United Rentals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $485.00 to $780.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of United Rentals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $760.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $895.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $920.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $784.31.

United Rentals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $56.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $739.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $690.44.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $10.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.54 by ($0.07). United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.11% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.70 earnings per share. United Rentals's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.28, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of United Rentals 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 1,921 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,957.06. This trade 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $695,716,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 77,674.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 887,407 shares of the construction company's stock worth $556,138,000 after acquiring an additional 886,266 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals during the 1st quarter valued at about $402,291,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 98.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,093,805 shares of the construction company's stock worth $685,488,000 after purchasing an additional 541,579 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $330,989,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company's stock.

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.

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