Holocene Advisors LP Cuts Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Holocene Advisors LP decreased its stake in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 329,442 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 212,603 shares during the quarter. United Rentals accounts for approximately 0.7% of Holocene Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $314,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in URI. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 175 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in United Rentals by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Rentals by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 450 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on United Rentals from $1,090.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $970.00 price target on United Rentals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,150.00 to $970.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,025.00 target price for the company in a report on Sunday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,123.00 to $1,041.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $925.59.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In related news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $790.89, for a total transaction of $1,184,753.22. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,434,996.08. This represents a 17.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael D. Durand sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $791.14, for a total transaction of $1,969,938.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,322.12. This trade represents a 25.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $736.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $525.91 and a 52-week high of $1,021.47. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $867.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $880.48.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $11.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.86 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 30.35% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 44.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a $1.97 dividend. This is a boost from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.