Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Fluor Co. (NYSE:FLR)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fluor Co. (NYSE:FLR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,179 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Fluor by 150,425.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,021 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 6,017 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fluor by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the construction company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Fluor by 2,695.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 63,760 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,284,000 after buying an additional 61,479 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Fluor by 121.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,214 shares of the construction company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Fluor by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the construction company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fluor Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of FLR stock traded down $1.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $48.43. 5,106,512 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,501,039. Fluor Co. has a 1 year low of $29.20 and a 1 year high of $60.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 3.97, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.30.

Fluor (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The construction company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.27 billion. Fluor had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 15.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fluor Co. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Fluor

In other news, insider Alvin C. Collins III sold 18,920 shares of Fluor stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.43, for a total value of $859,535.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 64,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,924,919.69. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FLR. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Fluor from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Fluor from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Fluor from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Fluor from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays set a $40.00 price objective on Fluor and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.43.

About Fluor

Fluor Corporation provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); fabrication and modularization; operation and maintenance; asset integrity; and project management services worldwide. The company operates through Energy Solutions, Urban Solutions, Mission Solutions, and Other segments. The Energy Solutions segment provides solutions to the energy transition markets, including asset decarbonization, carbon capture, renewable fuels, waste-to-energy, green chemicals, hydrogen, nuclear power, and other low-carbon energy sources.