Zacks Research Downgrades United Rentals (NYSE:URI) to Hold

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

URI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price target on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered United Rentals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Rentals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $1,170.00 target price on United Rentals in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,275.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,230.88.

United Rentals Stock Performance

Shares of United Rentals stock opened at $1,045.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.79. United Rentals has a 52 week low of $701.59 and a 52 week high of $1,179.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1,067.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $974.62.

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The construction company reported $12.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.53 by $1.23. United Rentals had a net margin of 15.67% and a return on equity of 31.72%. The business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that United Rentals will post 48.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other United Rentals news, EVP William Grace sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,133.15, for a total value of $1,699,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,869,155.30. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Rentals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of URI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in United Rentals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,816,326,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Rentals during the fourth quarter worth $978,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in United Rentals during the second quarter worth $944,196,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter worth $716,129,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Rentals in the second quarter worth $412,860,000. 96.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Rentals Company Profile

United Rentals, Inc is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, commercial, government and residential customers. The company provides access to a broad range of equipment without requiring customers to purchase and maintain their own fleets.

Its rental offerings include aerial work platforms, earthmoving equipment, material-handling equipment, trucks and trailers, power-generation and climate-control equipment, pumps, tools, trench-safety products and traffic-control equipment.