McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 778,850 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 361% from the previous session’s volume of 169,000 shares.The stock last traded at $109.06 and had previously closed at $109.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded McGrath RentCorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.50.

McGrath RentCorp Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.77 and a 200 day moving average of $109.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.49.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $256.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $254.32 million. McGrath RentCorp had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 16.55%. As a group, research analysts forecast that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.495 per share. This is a boost from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 16th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 40,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,483,000 after purchasing an additional 9,340 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $267,000. 92.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About McGrath RentCorp

McGrath RentCorp, through its subsidiaries, provides rental, sales, and servicing of equipment for commercial, industrial, environmental, and residential markets. The company operates primarily through two segments—mobile storage and water management—offering flexible solutions for customers requiring on-site storage, water transport, treatment, and dewatering services.

In its mobile storage segment, McGrath RentCorp supplies portable storage containers and modular office units to sectors including construction, retail, government, and disaster restoration.