Quanta Services, Inc. $PWR Stake Cut by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Quanta Services stake by 2.1%, selling 4,733 shares and retaining 222,144 shares valued at approximately $122 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.49% of the company.
• Quanta Services reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.68 per share and revenue of $7.87 billion, up 26.3% year over year. The company also authorized a $1 billion share-buyback program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $745.55, while recent insider transactions included significant stock sales by the CEO and chief accounting officer.

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 222,144 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 4,733 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Quanta Services worth $121,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quanta Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Quanta Services by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 12,471 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Quanta Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,632,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Quanta Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $996,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quanta Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.49% of the company's stock.

Quanta Services Stock Down 4.6%

PWR stock opened at $561.14 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Quanta Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $363.01 and a 1 year high of $788.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $682.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $610.16. The firm has a market cap of $84.21 billion, a PE ratio of 76.97, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.21.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.64. Quanta Services had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $7.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Quanta Services, Inc. will post 12.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Quanta Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Quanta Services's dividend payout ratio is 6.04%.

Quanta Services announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PWR shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Quanta Services from $538.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Roth Capital increased their price objective on Quanta Services from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Quanta Services from $640.00 to $733.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho set a $645.00 target price on Quanta Services in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $784.00 target price on Quanta Services in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $745.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Earl C. Jr. Austin sold 25,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $770.71, for a total transaction of $20,032,294.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 16,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,722,880.68. This represents a 61.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Paul Nobel sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $756.98, for a total value of $3,027,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,080 shares in the company, valued at $6,116,398.40. The trade was a 33.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,992 shares of company stock valued at $123,244,714. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Quanta Services Profile

Quanta Services, Inc is a leading specialty contractor that provides comprehensive infrastructure solutions for the electric power, pipeline and energy, and communications markets. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company delivers engineering, procurement, construction, installation, maintenance and repair services that support the development, modernization and ongoing operation of critical energy and communications networks.

In the electric power sector, Quanta works on transmission and distribution systems, substation construction and grid modernization projects that include integration of renewable generation and energy storage.

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