North Star Investment Management Corp. Trims Stock Holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Key Points

• North Star Investment Management trimmed its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 40.6%, selling 893 shares and leaving it with 1,307 shares valued at about $1.22 million at quarter-end.
• Comfort Systems reported a strong quarter—$10.51 EPS vs. $6.81 expected and revenue of $2.87 billion (up 56.5% year-over-year)—and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80.
• Large institutions continue to move in opposite directions: Vanguard increased its holding to 4.31 million shares (~$4.02 billion) and hedge funds own 96.51% of the stock, while company insiders have been net sellers, offloading 38,788 shares (~$56.3 million) in the past 90 days.

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) by 40.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,307 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 893 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Comfort Systems USA were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,310,126 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,022,597,000 after buying an additional 625,567 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 36.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 734,519 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $606,117,000 after buying an additional 197,613 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $156,183,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 1,189.1% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 148,312 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $79,525,000 after buying an additional 136,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 29.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 513,257 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $423,529,000 after buying an additional 117,892 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Comfort Systems USA Trading Up 7.0%

NYSE:FIX opened at $1,844.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.22 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,497.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,186.36. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 12-month low of $408.96 and a 12-month high of $1,855.43.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $10.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.81 by $3.70. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 51.69% and a net margin of 12.07%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 43.42 EPS for the current year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Comfort Systems USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Darcy Anderson sold 4,500 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,369.74, for a total value of $6,163,830.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,035 shares in the company, valued at $24,703,260.90. The trade was a 19.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William J. Sandbrook sold 2,500 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,443.32, for a total value of $3,608,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,471.12. This trade represents a 21.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,788 shares of company stock valued at $56,276,043. 1.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FIX has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $2,004.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Glj Research assumed coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $2,001.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Comfort Systems USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Comfort Systems USA from $1,611.00 to $1,819.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comfort Systems USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,923.20.

About Comfort Systems USA

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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