Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Twelve analysts rate Ameresco a "Moderate Buy" (8 buy, 3 hold, 1 sell) with an average 1‑year price target of $39, though recent targets vary widely (UBS $28 to Canaccord $50).
• Insider selling: Director Nickolas Stavropoulos sold 15,700 shares (~$536k) on Feb 20; insiders have sold 16,920 shares in the past 90 days while still owning 44.96% of the company.
• Quarterly beat: Ameresco reported Q EPS $0.39 vs. $0.32 expected and revenue $581.0M vs. $556.1M expected (revenue +9.1% YoY); market cap ≈ $1.44B and P/E ≈ 32.8.

Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target (up from $37.00) on shares of Ameresco in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Ameresco from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ameresco from $40.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ameresco in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Ameresco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameresco

In related news, Director Nickolas Stavropoulos sold 15,700 shares of Ameresco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total transaction of $536,155.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,111 shares in the company, valued at $481,890.65. This trade represents a 52.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,920 shares of company stock valued at $574,440. Company insiders own 44.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameresco

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Ameresco by 318.2% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 107,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,620,000 after buying an additional 82,015 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Ameresco by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 154,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,261,000 after buying an additional 44,949 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in Ameresco by 197.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 964,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,371,000 after purchasing an additional 640,106 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ameresco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameresco by 108.4% during the 3rd quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 890,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,889,000 after purchasing an additional 462,875 shares during the last quarter. 99.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameresco Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Ameresco stock opened at $27.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 2.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Ameresco has a 12-month low of $10.16 and a 12-month high of $44.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $27.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.29.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $581.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.09 million. Ameresco had a net margin of 2.29% and a return on equity of 4.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ameresco will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc is a leading independent provider of comprehensive energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for businesses and governments across North America, Europe and other select markets. Its integrated services portfolio includes energy efficiency retrofits, infrastructure upgrades, distributed generation systems and facility-scale renewable projects. Leveraging performance-based contracting models, Ameresco designs, finances, installs and maintains energy improvements intended to reduce operational costs, mitigate environmental impact and enhance resiliency for its clients.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Ameresco has completed thousands of projects spanning solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas‐to‐energy, energy storage and microgrid installations.

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