Fluor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FLR)

Key Points

• Fluor saw unusually high options activity: Investors bought 10,105 call options, 185% above the average volume of 3,540 contracts.
• Shares fell $2.70 to $49.30, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $0.91 in EPS versus a $0.70 estimate and $4.33 billion in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $63.33; recent targets range from $65 to $71, while one firm downgraded the stock to “Sell.”

Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,105 call options on the company. This is an increase of 185% compared to the average volume of 3,540 call options.

Fluor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLR traded down $2.70 on Wednesday, hitting $49.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 371,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,123. Fluor has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $58.35. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.69 and a 200-day moving average of $50.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Fluor (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.92 billion. Fluor had a positive return on equity of 8.82% and a negative net margin of 12.85%.The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fluor will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Fluor

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

Institutional Trading of Fluor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLR. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Fluor by 7.2% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the construction company's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fluor by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Fluor by 121.4% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 826 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fluor by 10.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,092 shares of the construction company's stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Fluor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FLR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fluor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Fluor from $49.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Fluor in a report on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Fluor from $56.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fluor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fluor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Fluor Company Profile

Fluor Corporation NYSE: FLR is a global engineering, procurement, construction and project-management company. It provides integrated services for complex capital projects, including design and engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance, and program management.

The company serves clients across the energy, chemicals, infrastructure, mining, advanced manufacturing, government and commercial sectors. Its work includes developing and maintaining industrial facilities, transportation and other infrastructure, government and defense projects, and energy-related assets.

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