Short Interest in Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) Drops By 15.6%

Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,050,000 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the September 30th total of 4,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 759,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on PWR. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Quanta Services from $286.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Quanta Services from $264.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Quanta Services in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $313.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Quanta Services in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $297.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Quanta Services from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.07.

Quanta Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Quanta Services stock traded down $1.93 on Wednesday, reaching $311.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 923,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,225. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Quanta Services has a 52 week low of $153.74 and a 52 week high of $317.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.82.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Quanta Services had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 3.59%. Quanta Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Quanta Services will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Quanta Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.12%. Quanta Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karl W. Studer sold 23,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.51, for a total transaction of $6,318,302.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,631 shares in the company, valued at $2,875,791.81. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Gerald A. Ducey, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.93, for a total transaction of $3,868,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,490,297.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karl W. Studer sold 23,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.51, for a total value of $6,318,302.07. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,791.81. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,357 shares of company stock worth $53,115,572 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quanta Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allen Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quanta Services by 1,418.0% during the 1st quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 33,396 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,676,000 after purchasing an additional 31,196 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Quanta Services by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,341,230 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,245,452,000 after purchasing an additional 105,355 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Quanta Services by 5.7% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,862 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $9,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Quanta Services by 115.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 39,274 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,203,000 after buying an additional 21,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Quanta Services by 8.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 27,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $7,071,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.49% of the company’s stock.

Quanta Services Company Profile

Quanta Services, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for the electric and gas utility, renewable energy, communications, and pipeline and energy industries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company’s Electric Power Infrastructure Solutions segment engages in the design, procurement, construction, upgrade, repair, and maintenance of electric power transmission and distribution infrastructure and substation facilities; installation, maintenance, and upgrade of electric power infrastructure projects; installation of smart grid technologies on electric power networks; and design, installation, maintenance, and repair of commercial and industrial wirings.