Yousif Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,464 Shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI)

Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,638 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $6,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter valued at $422,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of United Rentals by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,042 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,807,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in United Rentals by 1,525.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 65 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of United Rentals in the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. 96.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

URI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of United Rentals from $322.00 to $559.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. BNP Paribas reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of United Rentals in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of United Rentals in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $589.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Rentals

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

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $667.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.84. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $325.15 and a 52 week high of $732.37. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $679.77 and a 200-day moving average of $576.07.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80. United Rentals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Rentals, Inc. will post 43.13 earnings per share for the current year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

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

United Rentals announced that its board has approved a share 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 a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.