McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday. 281,884 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 56% from the average daily volume of 180,673 shares. The stock last traded at $132.2930 and had previously closed at $129.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

McGrath RentCorp Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.11. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 12.85%. The company had revenue of $274.61 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.25 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th were paid a $0.4950 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. McGrath RentCorp’s payout ratio is 30.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Philip Hawkins sold 4,435 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.91, for a total transaction of $536,235.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 13,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,687.61. This trade represents a 24.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph F. Hanna sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.04, for a total value of $862,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 144,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,571,396.96. This represents a 4.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,935 shares of company stock valued at $1,639,856. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McGrath RentCorp during the third quarter worth approximately $371,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $401,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $157,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after buying an additional 2,464 shares during the period. 92.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McGrath RentCorp Company Profile

McGrath RentCorp was a business-to-business rental company that provided modular buildings, portable storage, electronic test equipment and related products. Its modular building offerings served customers needing temporary or permanent space, including classrooms, offices, healthcare facilities and other commercial or institutional applications.

Through brands such as Mobile Modular, the company rented relocatable buildings and portable storage units, while its TRS-RenTelco business provided electronic test and measurement equipment to telecommunications, electronics, aerospace, defense and other industrial customers.