McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Short Interest Update

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 437,000 shares, a decline of 17.8% from the January 31st total of 531,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 138,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McGrath RentCorp news, Director Kimberly Ann Box sold 1,000 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $935,175. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Gilda Malek sold 919 shares of McGrath RentCorp stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.78, for a total value of $111,915.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,657,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in McGrath RentCorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 13.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 24.2% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 92.05% of the company's stock.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MGRC traded down $2.91 on Friday, hitting $111.95. 150,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,239. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is $119.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.44.

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

McGrath RentCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.73%. McGrath RentCorp's payout ratio is presently 20.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on McGrath RentCorp from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. CJS Securities assumed coverage on McGrath RentCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised McGrath RentCorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

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.