IES (NASDAQ:IESC) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of IES (NASDAQ:IESC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

IES Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IESC opened at $216.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $233.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.68. IES has a 52-week low of $91.19 and a 52-week high of $320.08.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. IES had a return on equity of 35.81% and a net margin of 7.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Tracy Mclauchlin sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.02, for a total transaction of $1,265,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,177 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,204.54. This trade represents a 6.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 12,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.37, for a total transaction of $3,188,556.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,958,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,492,093. The trade was a 0.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,359 shares of company stock valued at $7,341,029 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 56.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IES

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of IES by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 753,331 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $151,389,000 after buying an additional 210,925 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC lifted its position in IES by 165.4% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 119,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,842,000 after acquiring an additional 74,438 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in IES by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 125,500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,221,000 after purchasing an additional 73,271 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IES by 79.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 155,426 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,026,000 after purchasing an additional 68,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of IES by 4.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,476,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $294,687,000 after purchasing an additional 65,145 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.