Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,273 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,240,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on URI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,100.00 to $1,235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,101.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on United Rentals from $1,245.00 to $1,355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,246.19.

United Rentals Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:URI opened at $1,038.12 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,098.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $956.65. United Rentals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.59 and a 12-month high of $1,179.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.80.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 48.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, EVP William E. Grace sold 1,500 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. The trade was a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

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.