United Rentals (URI) Competitors

United Rentals (NYSE:URI) and W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) are both large-cap construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, community ranking, risk and institutional ownership.

Is URI or GWW a better dividend stock?

United Rentals pays an annual dividend of $6.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. W.W. Grainger pays an annual dividend of $8.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. United Rentals pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. W.W. Grainger pays out 22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. W.W. Grainger has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years. United Rentals is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of URI or GWW?

96.3% of United Rentals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of United Rentals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of W.W. Grainger shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor URI or GWW?

In the previous week, United Rentals had 3 more articles in the media than W.W. Grainger. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for United Rentals and 6 mentions for W.W. Grainger. United Rentals' average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat W.W. Grainger's score of 1.08 indicating that United Rentals is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
United Rentals	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
W.W. Grainger	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer URI or GWW?

United Rentals currently has a consensus target price of $770.71, indicating a potential upside of 6.65%. W.W. Grainger has a consensus target price of $1,140.56, indicating a potential upside of 4.35%. Given United Rentals' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe United Rentals is more favorable than W.W. Grainger.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Rentals	3 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.47
W.W. Grainger	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.23

Which has more volatility & risk, URI or GWW?

United Rentals has a beta of 1.66, indicating that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W.W. Grainger has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is URI or GWW more profitable?

United Rentals has a net margin of 17.12% compared to W.W. Grainger's net margin of 10.80%. W.W. Grainger's return on equity of 51.78% beat United Rentals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Rentals	17.12%	34.73%	10.62%
W.W. Grainger	10.80%	51.78%	21.91%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, URI or GWW?

United Rentals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than W.W. Grainger. United Rentals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W.W. Grainger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Rentals	$14.98B	3.17	$2.42B	$38.29	18.87
W.W. Grainger	$16.93B	3.14	$1.83B	$36.89	29.63

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in URI or GWW?

United Rentals received 214 more outperform votes than W.W. Grainger when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.90% of users gave United Rentals an outperform vote while only 53.48% of users gave W.W. Grainger an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
United Rentals	Outperform Votes 760 64.90%	Underperform Votes 411 35.10%
W.W. Grainger	Outperform Votes 546 53.48%	Underperform Votes 475 46.52%

Summary

United Rentals beats W.W. Grainger on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.