As we suspected would be the case following the December quarter earnings report from United Rentals (URI) , we have seen a number of price targets on the shares move higher.
Stifel boosted its price target to $505 from $450, while Citigroup upped its to $500 from $450. Others were less convinced despite the new dividend and the company resuming its buyback program pledging to utilize $1 billion in 2023 alone.
We're referring to the new $399 price target at Deutsche Bank, up from $341, and the $440 target at Jefferies that was raised from $360. Candidly those two firms have missed the 67% move in URI shares since late September, and we have the majority of the Biden Infrastructure Bill still ahead of us.
The catalyst cited by United during its earnings conference call that include the aforementioned infrastructure bill but also that the CHIPS Act should also be positive drivers for other companies.
Nucor (NUE) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) both offered favorable views tied to those programs last week. Per weekly traffic reported by the Association of American Railroads, nonmetallic minerals traffic remained strong in the latest weekly data and is up high-single digits year to date vs. 2022. That volume paired with not only pricing action taken in 2022 and the tailwind of those spending programs is a positive for the shares of Vulcan Materials (VMC) .
Following the pronounced run in URI shares, and ahead of this week's batch of economic data and the Fed monetary policy decision, we are taking the prudent path and converting a portion of those outsized gains into booked wins for the portfolio. We will also take a portion of the portfolio's cash and flesh out our position in VMC shares.
As we shared last week, we will continue to hold a meaningful position in URI shares in order to capture further upside ahead as well as that new dividend stream.
After you receive this Alert, we will make the following trades:
Sell 30 shares of United Rentals at or near $435. Following the trade, the portfolio will own 290 URI shares, roughly 3.6% of the portfolio.
Buy 95 shares of Vulcan Materials at or near $179.50. Following the trade, the portfolio will own 490 VMC shares, roughly 2.5% of the portfolio.
(Please note that we are looking to execute these trades at or near the share price mentioned above. Once the trade is completed, subscribers can see the trade's executed price here. Be sure to toggle the chart to sort by Purchase Date.)