GW&K Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management cut its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 13.9% to 174,817 shares, representing about $144.26 million (0.50% of the company) and making FIX its third-largest holding (~1.3% of GW&K's portfolio).
• Comfort Systems posted a strong quarter—EPS of $9.37 vs. $6.75 expected and revenue of $2.65 billion (up 41.7% year-over-year)—and analysts now forecast roughly 16.85 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insiders have been active sellers recently (CFO and a director among them), with 31,001 shares sold (~$45.0M) in the last 90 days, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share.

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 174,817 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 28,248 shares during the period. Comfort Systems USA makes up about 1.3% of GW&K Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.50% of Comfort Systems USA worth $144,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FIX. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Comfort Systems USA during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Comfort Systems USA during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Avion Wealth grew its position in Comfort Systems USA by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 57 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Comfort Systems USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE FIX opened at $1,429.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47 and a beta of 1.63. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a one year low of $276.44 and a one year high of $1,500.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,185.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $973.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $9.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $2.62. Comfort Systems USA had a net margin of 11.23% and a return on equity of 48.52%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 16.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Comfort Systems USA's payout ratio is 8.30%.

Insider Transactions at Comfort Systems USA

In related news, CFO William George III sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,434.97, for a total transaction of $12,914,730.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 37,824 shares in the company, valued at $54,276,305.28. This trade represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Franklin Myers sold 8,636 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,472.56, for a total value of $12,717,028.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 73,995 shares in the company, valued at $108,962,077.20. This trade represents a 10.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,001 shares of company stock valued at $44,976,027. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Comfort Systems USA from $1,200.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Comfort Systems USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,310.00 price objective on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,611.00 target price on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,573.67.

Comfort Systems USA Profile

Comfort Systems USA, Inc is a U.S.-based mechanical contracting company that provides a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers. The company focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, and it supports projects from initial engineering and system selection through long-term service agreements and upgrades.

Its service offerings include new construction and retrofit installations, preventive and corrective maintenance, emergency repair, energy management and building automation systems.

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