Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Fluor has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from eight analysts, evenly split between buy and hold recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $63.33, above the reported $54.64 share price.
• Fluor beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus the $0.70 consensus and $4.33 billion in revenue versus estimates of $3.92 billion. Revenue increased 8.8% year over year, although the company posted a negative net margin of 12.85%.
• Institutional investors own approximately 88.07% of Fluor’s shares, with several firms increasing their positions. An insider separately sold 5,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Shares of Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.3333.

FLR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Fluor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Fluor in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Fluor from $49.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Fluor from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Fluor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Fluor Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of FLR opened at $54.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.45, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. Fluor has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $57.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.86.

Fluor (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Fluor had a negative net margin of 12.85% and a positive return on equity of 8.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fluor will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pierre Edward Bechelany sold 5,000 shares of Fluor stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $276,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,992,175.36. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fluor

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fluor by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,077 shares of the construction company's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Fluor by 337.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 16,389 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 12,645 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Fluor during the first quarter worth about $266,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fluor in the first quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Fluor by 7.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,782 shares of the construction company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

About Fluor

Fluor Corporation NYSE: FLR is a global engineering and construction firm that provides integrated solutions across the energy, chemicals, mining, clean energy, infrastructure and government services markets. The company's core offerings include engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction, maintenance and project management services, with capabilities spanning feasibility studies, detailed design and turnkey delivery. Fluor's diversified portfolio encompasses conventional oil and gas facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, petrochemical facilities, power generation projects, transportation infrastructure and federal government programs.

Founded in 1912 by John Simon Fluor as the Fluor Construction Company in Pomona, California, the firm has grown into an industry leader headquartered in Irving, Texas.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source