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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. CJS Securities assumed coverage on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of MGRC opened at $113.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.75. McGrath RentCorp has a 52-week low of $95.50 and a 52-week high of $129.93.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $243.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $246.93 million. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 25.44% and a return on equity of 13.68%. On average, equities analysts expect that McGrath RentCorp will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $935,175. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McGrath RentCorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MGRC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 8.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 6.9% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 18,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 32.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in McGrath RentCorp during the third quarter valued at about $797,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 287,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,243,000 after buying an additional 8,428 shares in the last quarter. 92.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.