Norges Bank Acquires New Position in Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 72,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,699,000. Norges Bank owned 0.14% of Ameresco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ameresco by 257.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 50.4% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 11,285 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ameresco by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 118,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 30,718 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ameresco by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,004,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,126,000 after purchasing an additional 450,571 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Ameresco by 204.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 39,773 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.24% of the company's stock.

Ameresco Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE AMRC traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,829. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $510.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.02. Ameresco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $39.68.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $532.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $524.31 million. Ameresco had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 3.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jennifer L. Miller sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total transaction of $842,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,225 shares in the company, valued at $362,758.50. This represents a 69.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO George P. Sakellaris bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.27 per share, for a total transaction of $231,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 978,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,071,974.26. This represents a 2.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 80,808 shares of company stock worth $785,274 and have sold 40,085 shares worth $843,378. Corporate insiders own 42.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group downgraded Ameresco from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $8.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Ameresco from $34.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Baird R W cut Ameresco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Ameresco in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Ameresco from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Ameresco Company Profile

Ameresco, Inc, a clean technology integrator, provides a portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy supply solutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Regions, U.S. Federal, Canada, Europe, Alternative Fuels, and All Other segments. The company offers energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, energy security and resilience, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations.