United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $655.19, but opened at $680.00. United Rentals shares last traded at $668.57, with a volume of 339,574 shares.

The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 16.91%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. United Rentals’s dividend payout ratio is 18.44%.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on URI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of United Rentals from $325.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of United Rentals in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $589.21.

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 transaction of $508,105.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Rentals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,399,808 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,669,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799,997 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Rentals during the 4th quarter valued at about $977,443,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Rentals by 58,829.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,043,051 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,281 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of United Rentals by 88.1% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 362,151 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $161,001,000 after buying an additional 169,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in United Rentals by 19.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 933,428 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $414,974,000 after buying an additional 149,838 shares during the last quarter. 96.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Stock Up 2.0 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $679.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $576.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.84.

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.