Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Stock Price

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $985.00 to $835.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $800.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $400.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded United Rentals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $658.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on United Rentals from $780.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Rentals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.25.

United Rentals Trading Up 5.9 %

URI opened at $729.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $787.08 and a 200 day moving average of $759.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $545.16 and a 12 month high of $896.98. The firm has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.69.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $11.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $12.49 by ($0.69). The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. United Rentals had a return on equity of 34.73% and a net margin of 17.12%. United Rentals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $11.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 43.46 EPS for the current year.

United Rentals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.03%.

Insider Transactions at United Rentals

In related news, SVP Anthony S. Leopold sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $823.24, for a total value of $740,916.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,682,702.56. This represents a 30.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 331 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 576 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its holdings in United Rentals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 19,341 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,625,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in United Rentals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Company 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.