Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ameresco shares rose 6.4% and traded at $22.30, above the 50-day moving average of $21.55, though still below the 200-day average of $26.41.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $41 price target, following both upgrades and downgrades.
• Quarterly EPS matched estimates at $0.20, while revenue of $515.46 million topped expectations and grew 9.1% year over year; company insiders also bought shares during the last quarter.

Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.55 and traded as high as $22.44. Ameresco shares last traded at $22.3010, with a volume of 526,718 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ameresco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Ameresco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of Ameresco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ameresco from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ameresco from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Ameresco Stock Up 6.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.50.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $515.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $465.18 million. Ameresco had a return on equity of 2.82% and a net margin of 1.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ameresco

In other news, CEO George P. Sakellaris bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.13 per share, for a total transaction of $66,390.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,013,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,430,901.61. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph W. Sutton bought 9,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.87 per share, with a total value of $202,439.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 80,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,674,734.02. This represents a 13.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 75,025 shares of company stock worth $1,778,963. 45.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameresco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMRC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 458.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of Ameresco in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 550.8% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,369 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameresco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ameresco in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.24% of the company's stock.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc NYSE: AMRC is an energy solutions and renewable energy company that develops, designs, constructs, and operates energy efficiency and infrastructure projects. Its services help public- and private-sector organizations reduce energy consumption, improve facility performance, and transition to lower-carbon energy sources.

The company's offerings include energy-as-a-service programs, energy audits and efficiency upgrades, solar power systems, battery energy storage, microgrids, distributed energy resources, LED lighting, heating and cooling systems, and renewable natural gas projects.

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