Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Stock Position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 18.4%, acquiring an additional 26,254 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 168,895 shares valued at approximately $54.4 million.
• Comfort Systems USA reported $6.53 earnings per share for its latest quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates of $4.84, with a 20.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.17 billion.
• Comfort Systems USA recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, reflecting a boost in payout ratio to 10.28%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,895 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,254 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.48% of Comfort Systems USA worth $54,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the construction company's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the 4th quarter worth about $242,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the 4th quarter worth about $318,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 131.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 104 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 314,821 shares of the construction company's stock worth $133,503,000 after buying an additional 52,726 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Comfort Systems USA from $512.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Comfort Systems USA from $630.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Comfort Systems USA from $545.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $635.60.

Comfort Systems USA Price Performance

Shares of Comfort Systems USA stock traded down $4.51 on Tuesday, hitting $698.88. 363,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,990. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $627.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.36. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 1-year low of $276.44 and a 1-year high of $733.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The construction company reported $6.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.84 by $1.69. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 9.01%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 16.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This is a boost from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Comfort Systems USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Julie Shaeff sold 1,369 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.50, for a total transaction of $964,460.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 16,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,288,203.50. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO T Mckenna Trent sold 4,400 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $3,153,172.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 21,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,507,156.57. The trade was a 16.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,283 shares of company stock worth $21,682,525. 1.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.