CNB Bank Raises Stock Holdings in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

CNB Bank increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 99.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 520 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $289,000. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in United Rentals by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,892 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth about $274,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on URI. Barclays raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Rentals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $589.21.

United Rentals Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE URI traded down $4.54 on Friday, reaching $628.34. The stock had a trading volume of 572,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,523. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.84. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $325.15 and a 12-month high of $732.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $679.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $570.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $1.63 dividend. This is a positive change from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 18.44%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.