Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Trims Position in EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) by 8.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,111 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. EMCOR Group comprises about 1.2% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in EMCOR Group were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,417,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in EMCOR Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,903 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,192,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in EMCOR Group by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,738 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,067,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered EMCOR Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on EMCOR Group from $514.00 to $503.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on EMCOR Group in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Anthony Guzzi sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.03, for a total value of $3,052,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 208,989 shares in the company, valued at $91,125,473.67. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin A. Walker-Lee sold 947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.83, for a total value of $390,950.01. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,928,616.02. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EMCOR Group Stock Performance

Shares of EME opened at $481.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $440.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $439.21. EMCOR Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $319.49 and a 12-month high of $545.30.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $5.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.57 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. EMCOR Group had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that EMCOR Group, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EMCOR Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.21%. EMCOR Group’s payout ratio is 4.42%.

EMCOR Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

EMCOR Group Company Profile

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.