United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $826.63 and last traded at $826.63, with a volume of 59898 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $819.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on United Rentals from $860.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on United Rentals from $873.00 to $954.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $774.00 to $795.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $790.00 to $905.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Rentals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $714.92.

United Rentals Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $744.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $699.16.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $10.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.48 by $0.22. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.35% and a return on equity of 35.87%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.88 EPS. United Rentals’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.39 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joli L. Gross sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $690.00, for a total transaction of $248,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,090 shares in the company, valued at $2,822,100. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in URI. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 31.9% in the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 563 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $780,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 14,600 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,528,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in United Rentals by 241.2% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,435 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the second quarter worth approximately $2,998,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

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.