Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Trading Up 6.3% – What’s Next?

Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN)’s share price traded up 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $64.23 and last traded at $63.34. 1,725,632 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 67% from the average session volume of 1,034,517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair upgraded Parsons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Parsons from $122.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Parsons from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Parsons from $109.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Parsons in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Parsons presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

Parsons Stock Up 5.8 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.14 and a 200-day moving average of $88.59. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.94, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Parsons declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 24th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Parsons

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Parsons during the 4th quarter valued at $499,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Parsons during the 4th quarter valued at about $577,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Parsons by 14.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 772,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,146,000 after buying an additional 95,040 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Parsons by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 45,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,175,000 after buying an additional 5,032 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Parsons by 676.6% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 16,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.02% of the company’s stock.

About Parsons

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments. The Federal Solutions segment provides critical technologies, such as cybersecurity; missile defense; intelligence; space launch and ground systems; space and weapon system resiliency; geospatial intelligence; signals intelligence; environmental remediation; border security, critical infrastructure protection; counter unmanned air systems; biometrics and bio surveillance solutions to U.S.