McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 473,500 shares, a decrease of 31.1% from the September 15th total of 687,600 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 250,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MGRC. StockNews.com cut shares of McGrath RentCorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of McGrath RentCorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company.

McGrath RentCorp Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of McGrath RentCorp stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 231,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,535. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.75. McGrath RentCorp has a 1-year low of $95.50 and a 1-year high of $130.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.36.

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $212.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.23 million. McGrath RentCorp had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McGrath RentCorp will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

McGrath RentCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 17th will be given a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 17th. McGrath RentCorp’s dividend payout ratio is 37.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McGrath RentCorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,691,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,931,000 after buying an additional 11,280 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 67.6% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 784,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,725,000 after purchasing an additional 316,292 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of McGrath RentCorp by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 771,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,258,000 after purchasing an additional 150,253 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its position in McGrath RentCorp by 9.8% in the second quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 710,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,741,000 after purchasing an additional 63,366 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in McGrath RentCorp by 5.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 707,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,405,000 after buying an additional 39,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.