Baird R W Upgrades EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) to "Strong-Buy"

Baird R W upgraded shares of EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on EME. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of EMCOR Group in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Hovde Group raised EMCOR Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird began coverage on EMCOR Group in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $560.00 target price on the stock. TD Securities initiated coverage on EMCOR Group in a report on Friday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on EMCOR Group from $514.00 to $503.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EMCOR Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $518.00.

EMCOR Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE EME traded down $3.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $531.45. 635,625 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,303. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $462.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.40. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48 and a beta of 1.23. EMCOR Group has a 1 year low of $319.49 and a 1 year high of $545.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.16.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $5.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.57 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.78 billion. EMCOR Group had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 7.00%. The firm's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EMCOR Group will post 20.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EMCOR Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. EMCOR Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.42%.

Insider Activity

In other EMCOR Group news, CEO Anthony Guzzi sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.03, for a total transaction of $3,052,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 208,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,125,473.67. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robin A. Walker-Lee sold 947 shares of EMCOR Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.83, for a total value of $390,950.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,928,616.02. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EMCOR Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of EMCOR Group by 20.8% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,796 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in EMCOR Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in EMCOR Group by 146.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 10,700 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,361 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in EMCOR Group by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 844 shares of the construction company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,192,000. 92.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EMCOR Group Company Profile

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.