United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,093.66 and last traded at $1,090.3550, with a volume of 90307 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1,067.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,030.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,041.00 to $1,119.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,101.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, May 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.63.

United Rentals Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $68.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $885.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $852.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.47 by ($1.76). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $1.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $954.99, for a total value of $292,226.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,738 shares in the company, valued at $5,479,732.62. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total transaction of $22,426,024.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 in the last ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $978,017,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 22.8% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,402,524 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,247,762,000 after buying an additional 631,484 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1,667.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 343,965 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $278,378,000 after buying an additional 324,503 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake 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, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 3,459.3% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 196,688 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $159,184,000 after buying an additional 191,162 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.