IES (NASDAQ:IESC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

IES (NASDAQ:IESC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

IES Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IESC opened at $222.92 on Wednesday. IES has a 52 week low of $93.12 and a 52 week high of $320.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.72.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IES news, CFO Tracy Mclauchlin sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.02, for a total transaction of $1,265,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 71,177 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,204.54. This represents a 6.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.25, for a total transaction of $118,557.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,957,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,763,949,664. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,359 shares of company stock worth $7,341,029 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 56.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IES

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IESC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of IES by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 753,331 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $151,389,000 after purchasing an additional 210,925 shares in the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 74,438 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of IES by 140.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $31,026,000 after purchasing an additional 68,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of IES by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,476,238 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $294,687,000 after purchasing an additional 65,145 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IES Company Profile

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.