United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research cut shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

URI has been the subject of several other reports. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $1,350.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $1,421.00 to $1,466.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $1,195.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,230.88.

United Rentals Price Performance

URI opened at $1,045.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,067.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $974.62. United Rentals has a 52-week low of $701.59 and a 52-week high of $1,179.18.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a return on equity of 31.72% and a net margin of 15.67%.The company had revenue of $4.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that United Rentals will post 48.7 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $1.97 dividend. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total transaction of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,062 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Rentals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in URI. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Rentals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in United Rentals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 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, commercial, government and residential customers. The company provides access to a broad range of equipment without requiring customers to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental offerings include aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, trench-safety products and traffic-control equipment.