United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Short Interest Update

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,750,000 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the June 15th total of 3,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 560,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Rentals news, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,557.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other United Rentals news, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 8,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $699.63, for a total value of $5,862,199.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,341,742. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael D. Durand sold 559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $674.56, for a total transaction of $377,079.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,557.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of URI. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in United Rentals in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

URI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of United Rentals from $796.00 to $785.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $750.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $637.67.

United Rentals Stock Performance

URI stock traded up $27.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $707.41. 592,707 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,190. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. United Rentals has a 52 week low of $387.01 and a 52 week high of $732.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $656.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $651.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.71.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals will post 43.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.66%.

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.