IES (NASDAQ:IESC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of IES (NASDAQ:IESC) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on IESC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of IES in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Freedom Capital lowered IES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, IES has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $458.00.

IES Price Performance

IES stock opened at $724.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21 and a beta of 1.78. IES has a 1-year low of $309.51 and a 1-year high of $804.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $676.17 and its 200 day moving average is $573.79.

Shares of IES are set to split before the market opens on Monday, August 24th. The 2-1 split was announced on Friday, July 31st. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, August 21st.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The technology company reported $6.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.83 by $1.87. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. IES had a return on equity of 38.05% and a net margin of 11.40%.

Insider Activity at IES

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 46,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $756.47, for a total value of $35,342,278.40. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 10,406,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,872,249,686.73. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tracy Mclauchlin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.61, for a total value of $1,987,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 62,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,429,690.25. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 201,102 shares of company stock worth $141,910,522. Company insiders own 56.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IES

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in IES by 324,337.8% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 120,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,699,000 after buying an additional 120,005 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in IES during the fourth quarter worth $40,578,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in IES by 40.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 349,163 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $166,366,000 after buying an additional 100,425 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in IES during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,768,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in IES by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 164,722 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,080,000 after acquiring an additional 33,273 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IES Company Profile

IES Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: IESC) is a specialty contractor providing integrated electrical and mechanical construction services, engineering, and systems integration across North America. The company focuses on delivering end-to-end solutions for commercial, industrial and mission-critical facilities, combining design, build, commission and maintenance capabilities to serve a wide range of markets.

Through its subsidiaries, IES offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including electrical distribution and infrastructure, mechanical contracting, process piping, controls and automation, energy management, and ongoing service and maintenance.