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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded IES Holdings to “strong-buy” from “buy,” while other analysts’ views leave the stock with an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $458.
• IES shares rose 30.3% and opened at $744.54, near the company’s 52-week high. Its latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $6.70 versus $4.83 forecast and revenue of $1.24 billion versus $1.08 billion expected.
• IES announced a 2-for-1 stock split scheduled for August 24. Meanwhile, insiders sold 208,102 shares worth approximately $146.5 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 86.6% of the stock.

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Freedom Capital cut IES from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of IES in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $458.00.

IES Trading Up 30.3%

IES stock opened at $744.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $674.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $570.66. IES has a 1-year low of $309.51 and a 1-year high of $804.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71 and a beta of 1.78.

IES shares are going to split on Monday, August 24th. The 2-1 split was announced on Friday, July 31st. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Friday, August 21st.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The technology company reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.83 by $1.87. IES had a return on equity of 33.97% and a net margin of 10.40%.The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion.

Insider Activity at IES

In related news, Director Todd M. Cleveland sold 11,578 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.52, for a total value of $7,682,234.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 65,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,670,895.84. This represents a 14.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew J. Simmes sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.24, for a total transaction of $4,607,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,575 shares in the company, valued at $56,987,128. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 208,102 shares of company stock valued at $146,518,202 in the last ninety days. 56.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of IES

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IESC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of IES by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,904 shares of the technology company's stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in IES by 6.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 22,787 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in IES during the second quarter valued at about $365,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in IES during the second quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in IES by 43.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 91,567 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,125,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 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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