United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $1,179.62 and last traded at $1,178.0450, with a volume of 263,586 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,121.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on URI. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $715.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One equities 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,288.19.

United Rentals Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,046.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $968.32.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $15.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $13.97 by $1.58. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 16.33%. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $11.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 50.83 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,653 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,663,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals in the 3rd quarter worth $16,985,000. SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 11,323 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,332,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Rentals by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,665 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in United Rentals by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 11,708 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $11,717,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, infrastructure, utilities, government and other commercial customers. The company provides access to equipment and related services through a network of rental locations, helping customers manage projects without purchasing and maintaining all of the equipment they need.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, general construction tools, trucks and trailers, and light-duty equipment.