Wall Street Zen Downgrades United Rentals (NYSE:URI) to Hold

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their target price on United Rentals from $1,270.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $1,170.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,230.88.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $986.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. United Rentals has a 52 week low of $701.59 and a 52 week high of $1,179.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,076.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $966.65.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that United Rentals will post 48.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total value of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of URI. SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,765,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 95,940 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,666,000 after purchasing an additional 15,696 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 69,583 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 995.1% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 13,612 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,016,000 after purchasing an additional 12,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 9.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,855,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, commercial, government and residential customers. The company provides access to a broad range of equipment without requiring customers to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental offerings include aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, trench-safety products and traffic-control equipment.