Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 58,142 Shares of Construction Partners, Inc. $ROAD

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Construction Partners stake by 94.4%, selling 58,142 shares and retaining 3,450 shares worth approximately $383,000. Institutional investors collectively own 94.83% of ROAD.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but has weakened, with recent price-target reductions and several downgrades to “hold.” The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $134.17.
• Construction Partners reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting EPS of $0.18 versus a $0.05 loss estimate and revenue of $769.2 million, up 34.6% year over year. ROAD opened at $103.35, near the lower end of its 52-week range.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Construction Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROAD - Free Report) by 94.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,450 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,142 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Construction Partners were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Construction Partners by 300.0% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 240 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Construction Partners during the third quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Construction Partners in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Construction Partners in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Construction Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. 94.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ROAD. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Construction Partners from $161.00 to $150.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Construction Partners from $169.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Construction Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Construction Partners from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Construction Partners in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.17.

Construction Partners Trading Up 1.6%

Construction Partners stock opened at $103.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.33, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.53. Construction Partners, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.22 and a 52 week high of $151.00.

Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.23. Construction Partners had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 3.90%.The firm had revenue of $769.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $678.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Construction Partners, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Construction Partners Company Profile

Construction Partners, Inc NASDAQ: ROAD is a specialty contractor and infrastructure solutions provider focused on road building, paving, site development and aggregate production. The company delivers a comprehensive suite of civil construction services, including roadway paving and milling, site grading and preparation, stormwater and utility installation, and full-scale asphalt plant operations. By integrating materials production with contracting capabilities, the firm aims to streamline project delivery and maintain quality control across its contracting and materials businesses.

At the heart of Construction Partners' operations are its network of asphalt plants, quarries and aggregate production facilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.