IES (NASDAQ:IESC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded IES (NASDAQ:IESC) from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, signaling increased confidence in the company's growth potential.
• IES reported earnings of $3.30 per share with $834 million in revenue for the last quarter, reflecting a strong financial performance with a net margin of 7.76%.
• CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 5,764 shares at an average price of $273.59, reducing his ownership slightly while retaining a significant number of shares valued at nearly $3 billion.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

IES Price Performance

IESC traded down $10.97 on Friday, reaching $340.95. 118,323 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53 and a beta of 1.63. The company's 50-day moving average price is $288.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.73. IES has a fifty-two week low of $129.16 and a fifty-two week high of $370.88.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter. IES had a return on equity of 36.49% and a net margin of 7.76%. The firm had revenue of $834.00 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity at IES

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 5,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.59, for a total value of $1,576,972.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 10,917,554 shares in the company, valued at $2,986,933,598.86. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 39,630 shares of company stock valued at $10,915,095 in the last quarter. 56.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IES

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hedeker Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of IES during the first quarter valued at approximately $727,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of IES by 650.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,462 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,117,000 after acquiring an additional 22,070 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of IES by 3.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,663 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of IES by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IES in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,361,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

About IES

IES Holdings, Inc engages in the design and installation of integrated electrical and technology systems, and provides infrastructure products and services in the United States. The Communications segment designs, installs, and maintains network infrastructure within data centers for co-location and managed hosting customers; corporate, educational, financial, hospitality, and healthcare buildings; e-commerce distribution centers; and high-tech manufacturing facilities.