Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Steele Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 485 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $825,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Intellectus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 63,913 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,688,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on URI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $600.79.

United Rentals Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of URI stock traded down $27.90 on Tuesday, hitting $684.79. 267,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 583,803. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $325.15 and a fifty-two week high of $732.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $682.42 and a 200 day moving average of $582.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.44 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.44% and a net margin of 17.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.54 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. United Rentals’s payout ratio is presently 17.66%.

United Rentals announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at United Rentals

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Rentals Profile

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.