Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Parsons from “hold” to “buy,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $63.50.
• Parsons exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.89 in adjusted earnings per share versus the $0.80 consensus and $1.65 billion in revenue, up 1.8% year over year.
• The stock opened at $50.74, below the average analyst target, and is supported by significant institutional ownership, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 98.02% of shares.

Parsons (NYSE:PSN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Parsons from $79.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on Parsons from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Parsons in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Parsons in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Parsons from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.50.

Parsons Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PSN opened at $50.74 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $45.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.16. Parsons has a 1 year low of $36.26 and a 1 year high of $88.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Parsons (NYSE:PSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.09. Parsons had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Parsons will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George Ball acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $47.97 per share, for a total transaction of $959,400.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 170,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,173,272.51. This represents a 13.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Parsons

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PSN. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Parsons by 183.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 553 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Parsons in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Parsons by 160.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 949 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Parsons in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Parsons during the second quarter worth about $59,000. 98.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Parsons Company Profile

Parsons Corporation NYSE: PSN is a technology-driven solutions provider serving government and commercial customers in the defense, intelligence, critical infrastructure and transportation markets. The company develops and integrates solutions for complex security, engineering and infrastructure challenges, combining software, systems engineering, cybersecurity, data analytics and program management capabilities.

Parsons operates through its Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments.

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