United Rentals (NYSE:URI) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.80 EPS

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The construction company reported $9.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.35 by $0.80, Briefing.com reports. United Rentals had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 36.44%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. United Rentals updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

United Rentals Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE URI opened at $690.77 on Friday. United Rentals has a 12 month low of $325.15 and a 12 month high of $732.37. The company has a market capitalization of $46.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $681.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $578.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

United Rentals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. United Rentals’s payout ratio is 17.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William E. Grace sold 775 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,145,485.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on URI. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of United Rentals in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of United Rentals from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on United Rentals from $575.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of United Rentals from $718.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on United Rentals from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $600.57.

United Rentals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase 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.