Courier Capital LLC Invests $203,000 in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Courier Capital LLC bought a new position in United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 354 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of URI. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of United Rentals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp lifted its holdings in 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 period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Rentals in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in United Rentals in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $655.62, for a total value of $508,105.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE URI opened at $720.15 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $660.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $543.15. The firm has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $325.15 and a twelve month high of $732.37.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued 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 business 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%. United Rentals’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.74 EPS. Analysts expect that United Rentals, Inc. will post 42.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

United Rentals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from United Rentals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on URI shares. Citigroup increased their target price on United Rentals from $490.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on United Rentals from $494.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. KeyCorp downgraded United Rentals from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. Truist Financial began coverage on United Rentals in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $793.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $572.20.

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.