Cardinal Infrastructure Group (NASDAQ:CDNL) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• CDNL fell to a new 52-week low, trading as low as $15.41 versus a prior close of $18.62, amid a sharp decline from its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Cardinal agreed to acquire Hughes Brothers Construction for approximately $357.5 million, expanding its heavy-civil and site-development operations in Central Florida. However, multiple law firms have announced securities-law investigations, adding legal and reputational risks.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with four Buy ratings and two Holds and a consensus price target of $49.25, but the company recently missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.26 versus the $0.48 consensus.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The company traded as low as $15.41 and last traded at $16.46, with a volume of 2,299,897 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.62.

Key Stories Impacting Cardinal Infrastructure Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Cardinal Infrastructure Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cardinal Infrastructure agreed to acquire Hughes Brothers Construction, a Central Florida heavy civil and site-development contractor, for approximately $357.5 million (reported elsewhere as roughly $360 million). The transaction would expand Cardinal’s geographic reach and operating platform, with management saying the purchase multiple is consistent with its typical new-market acquisitions. Cardinal Infrastructure announces Hughes Brothers acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of Cardinal’s M&A call and comparisons with Quanta Services provided additional context on the acquisition strategy, but did not identify a new operating catalyst likely to immediately change investor sentiment. Cardinal Infrastructure M&A call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Several securities-law firms, including Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, Scott+Scott, and Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, announced investigations into potential violations of federal securities laws involving Cardinal Infrastructure. The announcements encourage investors and potential witnesses to contact the firms and reference a substantial recent stock decline. The investigations do not establish wrongdoing, but they increase legal, reputational, and potential liability risks and are likely pressuring the shares. Scott+Scott investigation announcement BFA Law investigation announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CDNL shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Cardinal Infrastructure Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial started coverage on Cardinal Infrastructure Group in a research note on Friday, September 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Cardinal Infrastructure Group from $63.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Cardinal Infrastructure Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Cardinal Infrastructure Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cardinal Infrastructure Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.25.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.59 and a quick ratio of 3.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.36.

Cardinal Infrastructure Group (NASDAQ:CDNL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $226.93 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cardinal Infrastructure Group Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cardinal Infrastructure Group

In related news, COO Benjamin Wood acquired 25,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.48 per share, for a total transaction of $1,014,636.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 45,700 shares in the company, valued at $1,804,236. This trade represents a 128.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeremy Spivey acquired 83,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.41 per share, for a total transaction of $3,201,473.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 83,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,201,473.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 214,597 shares of company stock worth $8,285,516. 61.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cardinal Infrastructure Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Cardinal Infrastructure Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Infrastructure Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Infrastructure Group by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 22,438 shares of the company's stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541 shares in the last quarter. GatePass Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cardinal Infrastructure Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Cardinal Infrastructure Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 693,050 shares of the company's stock worth $27,483,000 after purchasing an additional 9,064 shares in the last quarter.

About Cardinal Infrastructure Group

Cardinal Infrastructure Group, Inc NASDAQ: CDNL is an infrastructure services company serving customers in the telecommunications and utility industries. The company focuses on the development, construction, installation and maintenance of infrastructure used to support communications networks and essential utility systems.

Its service offerings are centered on communications and utility infrastructure projects, including work associated with fiber-optic and other network deployments.

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.