Ballentine Partners LLC Takes Position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC recently acquired a new position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. by purchasing 879 shares valued at approximately $471,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts have given Comfort Systems USA a mostly positive outlook, with six "buy" ratings and a price target ranging from $581 to $875, leading to an average target of $668.60.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with a current payout ratio of 10.28%.

Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 879 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FIX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 2,872,410.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 833,028 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $268,510,000 after buying an additional 832,999 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 106.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 530,428 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $165,228,000 after acquiring an additional 273,453 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 39,575.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 254,318 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $81,974,000 after acquiring an additional 253,677 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 299.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 319,813 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $103,085,000 after acquiring an additional 239,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,634,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on FIX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Comfort Systems USA from $512.00 to $581.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Comfort Systems USA from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Northcoast Research downgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a report on Thursday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comfort Systems USA currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $668.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO William George III sold 8,436 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $692.60, for a total value of $5,842,773.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 47,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,879,799.80. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $691.74, for a total value of $6,917,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 188,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,078,940.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,783 shares of company stock worth $18,710,798 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.59% of the company's stock.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

Shares of Comfort Systems USA stock opened at $806.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $709.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $531.38. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.44 and a 12 month high of $825.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.43 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Comfort Systems USA's payout ratio is currently 10.28%.

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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