Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised its target price on Comfort Systems USA from $1,611 to $1,819 and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 12.32% upside from the current share price.
• Comfort Systems reported a strong quarter (EPS $9.37 vs. $6.75 expected; revenue $2.65B vs. $2.34B expected), with revenue up 41.7%, which has driven multiple analyst upgrades and a MarketBeat consensus "Buy" rating with a $1,643 target.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — executives disposed of 37,288 shares (about $53.7M) over the last three months — leaving insiders with roughly 1.59% ownership.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $1,611.00 to $1,819.00 in a report released on Thursday. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the construction company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.32% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Comfort Systems USA from $1,200.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,310.00 price target on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Comfort Systems USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,643.00.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

NYSE FIX traded down $29.43 on Thursday, hitting $1,619.54. 14,551 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,785. The firm has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.01 and a beta of 1.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,404.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,120.04. Comfort Systems USA has a fifty-two week low of $321.95 and a fifty-two week high of $1,671.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The construction company reported $9.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $2.62. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 11.23%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Comfort Systems USA will post 16.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William George III sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,434.97, for a total value of $12,914,730.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 37,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,276,305.28. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 9,365 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,453.12, for a total value of $13,608,468.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 171,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $249,243,501.76. The trade was a 5.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,288 shares of company stock worth $53,677,038. 1.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 30 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Comfort Systems USA in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comfort Systems USA Company Profile

Comfort Systems USA, Inc is a U.S.-based mechanical contracting company that provides a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers. The company focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, and it supports projects from initial engineering and system selection through long-term service agreements and upgrades.

Its service offerings include new construction and retrofit installations, preventive and corrective maintenance, emergency repair, energy management and building automation systems.

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