McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MGRC. CJS Securities assumed coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $152.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ:MGRC opened at $128.96 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.76 and a 200-day moving average of $112.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.77. McGrath RentCorp has a twelve month low of $95.50 and a twelve month high of $129.56.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.08. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The firm had revenue of $243.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.93 million. On average, analysts anticipate that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 16th. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. McGrath RentCorp’s payout ratio is presently 20.15%.

Insider Transactions at McGrath RentCorp

In other McGrath RentCorp news, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total transaction of $111,915.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $400,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 73,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,195,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 14,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 2,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 136,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,282,000 after acquiring an additional 31,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

McGrath RentCorp Company Profile

McGrath RentCorp operates as a business to business rental company in the United States and internationally. It rents and sells relocatable modular buildings, portable storage containers, and electronic test equipment. The company operates through four segments: Mobile Modular, Portable Storage, TRS-RenTelco, and Enviroplex.