Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,326 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $6,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of URI. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $152,069,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $298,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter valued at $7,514,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new stake in United Rentals in the second quarter worth $29,171,000. Finally, North Growth Management Ltd. raised its stake in United Rentals by 22.2% during the third quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 11,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $1,123.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, October 24th. Baird R W upgraded United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on United Rentals from $1,140.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $888.00 to $1,050.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $954.83.

United Rentals Trading Up 2.4%

URI opened at $939.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $827.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $874.10. United Rentals, Inc. has a one year low of $525.91 and a one year high of $1,021.47. The stock has a market cap of $59.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The construction company reported $11.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.43 by ($0.73). The business had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 15.83%.United Rentals’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $11.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.42%.

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.