Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in United Rentals, Inc. $URI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) by 3,010.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,056 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 27,154 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Rentals were worth $22,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 269 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 967 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 395 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest boosted its position in shares of United Rentals by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 554 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on URI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Rentals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of United Rentals from $600.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,101.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Craig Adam Pintoff sold 2,466 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $963.00, for a total transaction of $2,374,758.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,227,362. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew John Flannery sold 22,768 shares of United Rentals stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $984.98, for a total transaction of $22,426,024.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,478,300.40. This trade represents a 18.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,088 shares of company stock valued at $25,628,877 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of URI stock opened at $939.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. United Rentals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $681.98 and a 52 week high of $1,021.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $830.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $841.26.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.47 by ($1.76). United Rentals had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 30.56%. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that United Rentals, Inc. will post 47.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $1.97 per share. This represents a $7.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

United Rentals announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI) is a leading equipment rental company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm provides rental solutions and related services to construction, industrial, commercial, and municipal customers. Its business model centers on providing access to a broad fleet of equipment on a short-term or long-term basis, enabling customers to avoid the capital expenditure of ownership and to scale equipment use to match project needs.

The company’s product and service offerings span general construction equipment and a range of specialty categories, including aerial work platforms, earthmoving and excavation machines, material handling equipment, pumps, power and HVAC systems, trench and shoring solutions, and tools.