United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Upgraded to Neutral at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $658.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Argus lifted their price objective on United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $955.00 to $985.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.25.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $729.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.69. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $545.16 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $787.08 and a 200 day moving average of $759.44.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.12% and a return on equity of 34.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 43.46 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.03%.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total value of $740,916.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,044 shares in the company, valued at $1,682,702.56. This represents a 30.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in United Rentals by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 23,054 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $14,910,000 after buying an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,276 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $55,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,902 shares during the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter worth approximately $358,000. WealthPLAN Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 615 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in United Rentals by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 17,271 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $11,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

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.