McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. CJS Securities began coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $152.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MGRC opened at $122.00 on Friday. McGrath RentCorp has a 1 year low of $95.50 and a 1 year high of $129.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.77.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.08. McGrath RentCorp had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 25.44%. The business had revenue of $243.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.93 million. Equities research analysts expect that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. McGrath RentCorp’s payout ratio is currently 20.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $935,175. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total transaction of $111,915.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MGRC. Eminence Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the fourth quarter worth $83,898,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,896,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $212,116,000 after purchasing an additional 649,567 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 57.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,111,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,456,000 after purchasing an additional 404,884 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the third quarter worth $15,967,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the fourth quarter worth $13,179,000. Institutional investors own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

About McGrath RentCorp

McGrath RentCorp operates as a business to business rental company in the United States and internationally. It rents and sells relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, and electronic test equipment. The company operates through four segments: Mobile Modular, Portable Storage, TRS-RenTelco, and Enviroplex.