Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Invests $6.93 Million in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Key Points

• Peregrine Asset Advisers initiated a new position in Comfort Systems USA, buying 7,430 shares valued at about $6.93 million, which represents roughly 2.0% of its portfolio and is its 14th-largest holding.
• Comfort Systems reported a strong quarter—EPS $10.51 vs. $6.81 est. and revenue $2.87B (up 56.5% year-over-year)—and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.80 ($3.20 annual); analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $1,923.20.
• Insiders sold 39,288 shares worth about $57.17 million last quarter (including large sales by Franklin Myers and Brian E. Lane), while institutional ownership remains very high at 96.51%.

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,430 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $6,934,000. Comfort Systems USA makes up approximately 2.0% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FIX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,310,126 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,022,597,000 after acquiring an additional 625,567 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 734,519 shares of the construction company's stock worth $606,117,000 after acquiring an additional 197,613 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the 3rd quarter worth $156,183,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 1,189.1% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 148,312 shares of the construction company's stock worth $79,525,000 after acquiring an additional 136,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 117,892 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Comfort Systems USA

In other Comfort Systems USA news, Director Franklin Myers sold 8,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,472.56, for a total transaction of $12,717,028.16. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 9,365 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,453.12, for a total value of $13,608,468.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 171,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,243,501.76. This trade represents a 5.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,288 shares of company stock valued at $57,165,933. Insiders own 1.24% of the company's stock.

Comfort Systems USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FIX opened at $1,870.95 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 1 year low of $420.88 and a 1 year high of $1,877.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,497.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,191.27. The firm has a market cap of $65.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.98 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FIX shares. Zacks Research lowered Comfort Systems USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. KeyCorp upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $2,004.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Comfort Systems USA from $1,200.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,923.20.

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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