Wall Street Zen Upgrades IES (NASDAQ:IESC) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded IES from "buy" to "strong-buy"; Loop Capital set a $458 price target and analysts' average rating remains "Buy" with an average target of $458, while the stock recently traded around $655.64 (1‑year high $675).
• IES reported quarterly EPS of $4.16, beating estimates of $3.95, but revenue of $974.2M missed the $1.01B consensus; the company posted a 35.62% return on equity and a 9.70% net margin.
• Insiders sold 20,659 shares (~$10.6M) in the last 90 days, though insiders still own 56.43% of the stock and institutional/hedge fund ownership is reported at about 86.60%.

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 report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Loop Capital set a $458.00 target price on IES in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, IES presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $458.00.

IES Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IESC opened at $655.64 on Friday. IES has a 1 year low of $213.57 and a 1 year high of $675.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.00 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.51.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The technology company reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.21. IES had a return on equity of 35.62% and a net margin of 9.70%.The business had revenue of $974.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IES news, Chairman Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 5,048 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.50, for a total value of $2,672,916.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 10,590,272 shares in the company, valued at $5,607,549,024. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Todd M. Cleveland sold 3,119 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.81, for a total value of $1,596,335.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,233,025.77. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 20,659 shares of company stock worth $10,636,940 in the last 90 days. 56.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IES

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AltraVue Capital LLC boosted its holdings in IES by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 166,267 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,370 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IES by 60.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,726 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,277,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of IES during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $944,000. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of IES during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,018,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of IES by 982.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 323,893 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $128,796,000 after buying an additional 293,977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

About IES

IES Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: IESC is a specialty contractor providing integrated electrical and mechanical construction services, engineering, and systems integration across North America. The company focuses on delivering end-to-end solutions for commercial, industrial and mission-critical facilities, combining design, build, commission and maintenance capabilities to serve a wide range of markets.

Through its subsidiaries, IES offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including electrical distribution and infrastructure, mechanical contracting, process piping, controls and automation, energy management, and ongoing service and maintenance.

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