Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) Raises Dividend to $0.50 Per Share

Key Points

• Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has increased its quarterly dividend by 11.1%, raising it from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 0.29%.
• The company reported a 20.1% year-over-year revenue growth of $2.17 billion and earnings per share of $6.53 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Despite a recent downgrade from "buy" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, several analysts have set target prices above the current market price, reflecting a consensus of a Moderate Buy rating for the stock.

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.50 per share by the construction company on Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This is a 11.1% increase from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Comfort Systems USA has a dividend payout ratio of 8.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Comfort Systems USA to earn $17.96 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.0%.

Comfort Systems USA Price Performance

Comfort Systems USA stock traded up $126.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $689.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,252,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,699. Comfort Systems USA has a 12-month low of $272.92 and a 12-month high of $699.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $510.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $24.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36 and a beta of 1.51.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.84 by $1.69. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 36.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comfort Systems USA will post 16.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FIX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Comfort Systems USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Comfort Systems USA from $465.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Comfort Systems USA from $512.00 to $581.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Comfort Systems USA from $545.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comfort Systems USA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comfort Systems USA

In other news, Director Pablo G. Mercado sold 1,800 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.10, for a total value of $784,980.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,155,619.60. The trade was a 19.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.66, for a total transaction of $6,474,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 198,046 shares in the company, valued at $85,488,536.36. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $18,696,795. 1.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comfort Systems USA

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Comfort Systems USA stock. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) by 110.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,300 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Comfort Systems USA were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection.

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