Regents Gate Capital LLP Buys New Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,209 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,927,000. United Rentals comprises 2.1% of Regents Gate Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth about $776,102,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in United Rentals by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,874,127 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,411,968,000 after buying an additional 780,322 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 74.5% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 715,250 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $542,526,000 after buying an additional 305,378 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 66.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 484,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $462,485,000 after buying an additional 193,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 34,208.2% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 189,038 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $142,421,000 after acquiring an additional 188,487 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,322.12. This represents a 25.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total value of $1,184,753.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. The trade was a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

URI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price objective on shares of 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. KeyCorp set a $950.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $995.00 to $1,071.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

United Rentals Price Performance

NYSE:URI opened at $837.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $871.81 and a 200-day moving average of $889.02. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $525.91 and a 52 week high of $1,021.47. The company has a market capitalization of $52.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.66.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. United Rentals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

United Rentals 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.