9,720 United Rentals, Inc. $URI Shares Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 48.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,640 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,720 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $29,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of URI. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of United Rentals by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 331 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 0.9% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 16.9% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 76 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Rentals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on URI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Rentals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on United Rentals from $1,350.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,288.19.

United Rentals Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of URI opened at $1,167.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,049.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $970.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. United Rentals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.59 and a 1-year high of $1,202.12.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The construction company reported $15.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $13.97 by $1.58. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.33% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.70 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Rentals, Inc. will post 51.17 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.97 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $7.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 17.32%.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, infrastructure, utilities, government and other commercial customers. The company provides access to equipment and related services through a network of rental locations, helping customers manage projects without purchasing and maintaining all of the equipment they need.

Its rental fleet includes aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, general construction tools, trucks and trailers, and light-duty equipment.