StockNews.com Downgrades EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on EMCOR Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $445.00 target price on the stock. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on EMCOR Group in a report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on EMCOR Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.25.

EMCOR Group Price Performance

EME stock opened at $402.58 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $460.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 1.11. EMCOR Group has a 1 year low of $289.51 and a 1 year high of $545.29.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The construction company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.79. EMCOR Group had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 34.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. On average, analysts expect that EMCOR Group will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

EMCOR Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. EMCOR Group’s payout ratio is 5.08%.

EMCOR Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of EMCOR Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in EMCOR Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $299,855,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of EMCOR Group by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,318,494 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $598,465,000 after acquiring an additional 288,765 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EMCOR Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $100,282,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in EMCOR Group by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 306,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $139,349,000 after purchasing an additional 148,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in EMCOR Group by 2,246.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 142,578 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $65,036,000 after purchasing an additional 136,501 shares during the period. 92.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EMCOR Group

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.