The Goldman Sachs Group Raises United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Price Target to $790.00

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) had its price objective boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $718.00 to $790.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

URI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $793.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BNP Paribas reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $589.21.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.5 %

URI opened at $632.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals has a twelve month low of $325.15 and a twelve month high of $732.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $680.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $569.06.

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

United Rentals declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Rentals news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of URI. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp increased its position in shares of United Rentals by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Rentals during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in United Rentals by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 48 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by 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.