United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Price Target Increased to $790.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $718.00 to $790.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the construction company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 24.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $589.21.

United Rentals Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of URI stock opened at $636.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $680.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $568.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $325.15 and a twelve month high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The construction company reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.85 by $0.41. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.74 earnings per share. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Rentals will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the construction company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,179,328 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,905,379,000 after purchasing an additional 186,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,399,808 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,669,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799,997 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,756,009 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $624,121,000 after purchasing an additional 170,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter worth $977,443,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,441,997 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $569,394,000 after purchasing an additional 39,917 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Rentals

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.