Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $90.00 to $80.00. The stock had previously closed at $63.31, but opened at $62.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Parsons shares last traded at $64.45, with a volume of 510,806 shares traded.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PSN. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Parsons from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut Parsons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Parsons in a research note on Monday, May 5th. William Blair raised shares of Parsons from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Parsons in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Parsons presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Parsons

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Parsons during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Parsons by 28,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 290 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.02% of the company's stock.

Parsons Price Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $64.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.45. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.51, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Parsons declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 24th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Parsons

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments. The Federal Solutions segment provides critical technologies, such as cybersecurity; missile defense; intelligence; space launch and ground systems; space and weapon system resiliency; geospatial intelligence; signals intelligence; environmental remediation; border security, critical infrastructure protection; counter unmanned air systems; biometrics and bio surveillance solutions to U.S.