McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. CJS Securities initiated coverage on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $152.00 price target for the company.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MGRC opened at $122.00 on Friday. McGrath RentCorp has a one year low of $95.50 and a one year high of $129.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $118.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.96.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $243.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $246.93 million. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. This is an increase from McGrath RentCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McGrath RentCorp

In other news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $935,175. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total transaction of $111,915.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MGRC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in McGrath RentCorp by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in McGrath RentCorp by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in McGrath RentCorp by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in McGrath RentCorp by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 10,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.05% of the company’s stock.

About McGrath RentCorp

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.