United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $780.00 price target on the construction company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $485.00. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 9.34% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $732.00 to $786.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded United Rentals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $702.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on United Rentals from $535.00 to $571.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on United Rentals from $850.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $705.00 to $666.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $748.38.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $713.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.70. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $525.91 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $624.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $711.53.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $8.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.92 by ($0.06). United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 16.78%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.15 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William E. Grace sold 1,100 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $638.10, for a total transaction of $701,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,390,128. This trade represents a 13.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Andrew B. Limoges sold 708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,957.06. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,908 shares of company stock worth $1,890,567. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,464,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in United Rentals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 445,214 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $313,627,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $649,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in United Rentals by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 4,114 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 580.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.