Wall Street Zen Downgrades Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Quanta Services from buy to hold, even though the broader analyst view remains positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $745.55.
• Quanta Services reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.68 versus $2.04 expected and revenue of $7.87 billion, which was above estimates and up 26.3% year over year.
• The company authorized a $1 billion share buyback, while recent insider activity showed notable selling, including CEO Earl C. Jr. Austin and CAO Paul Nobel trimming their holdings.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on PWR. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Quanta Services from $570.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Quanta Services from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quanta Services from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Quanta Services from $635.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $784.00 price objective on shares of Quanta Services in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $745.55.

Quanta Services Stock Down 4.2%

NYSE:PWR opened at $626.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $689.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $605.59. Quanta Services has a 52-week low of $363.01 and a 52-week high of $788.75.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.64. Quanta Services had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 3.67%.The company had revenue of $7.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Quanta Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.550-14.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quanta Services will post 12.8 EPS for the current year.

Quanta Services announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, May 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 0.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Earl C. Jr. Austin sold 130,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $770.65, for a total value of $100,184,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 556,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $429,183,462.15. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Paul Nobel sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $756.98, for a total transaction of $3,027,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,116,398.40. This represents a 33.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,992 shares of company stock worth $123,244,714. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanta Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in Quanta Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Quanta Services by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130,436 shares of the construction company's stock worth $55,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,966 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Quanta Services by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,602 shares of the construction company's stock worth $21,357,000 after acquiring an additional 4,568 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Quanta Services by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,277 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Quanta Services in the 4th quarter worth $2,131,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.49% of the company's stock.

Quanta Services Company Profile

Quanta Services, Inc is a leading specialty contractor that provides comprehensive infrastructure solutions for the electric power, pipeline and energy, and communications markets. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company delivers engineering, procurement, construction, installation, maintenance and repair services that support the development, modernization and ongoing operation of critical energy and communications networks.

In the electric power sector, Quanta works on transmission and distribution systems, substation construction and grid modernization projects that include integration of renewable generation and energy storage.

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