Analysts Set United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Price Target at $572.20

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $572.20.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on URI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $510.00 to $718.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total transaction of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 6.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,568 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $9,588,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 0.6% in the third quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,487 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,529,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 10.0% in the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,109,218 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $939,382,000 after purchasing an additional 192,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Square Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $5,473,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $720.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $660.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $543.15. United Rentals has a 52 week low of $325.15 and a 52 week high of $732.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.85 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 42.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 18.44%.

United Rentals Company Profile

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.