United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Receives $925.59 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $925.5882.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on URI. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $972.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares in the company, valued at $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. The trade was a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 650.0% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Down 4.7%

URI stock opened at $854.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $525.91 and a twelve month high of $1,021.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $870.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $889.96.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.86 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.United Rentals’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.59 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About United Rentals

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.