United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Shares Down 5.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) dropped 5.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $973.29 and last traded at $986.2140. Approximately 217,997 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 559,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,043.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

URI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Rentals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,320.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,170.00 target price (down from $1,235.00) on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $1,335.00 price target on shares of United Rentals and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,243.62.

United Rentals Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,066.58 and a 200 day moving average of $980.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.79.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in URI. SFE Investment Counsel bought a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter worth about $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 worth $77,666,000 after buying an additional 15,696 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Rentals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 69,583 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,315,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $944,196,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in shares of United Rentals by 995.1% in the 4th 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. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company provides construction, industrial, commercial, and homeowner customers with access to equipment without requiring them to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trench safety products, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, and general construction equipment. United Rentals also provides specialty services such as mobile storage, fluid solutions, power and HVAC support, and project-based equipment management.

Founded in 1997, United Rentals has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions into a large equipment-rental network serving customers primarily in the United States and Canada, with additional operations in Europe and Australia.