Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Position in Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,272 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.24% of Ameresco worth $2,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMRC. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 42,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 7,666 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ameresco during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,849,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Ameresco by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 225,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,289,000 after buying an additional 54,868 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameresco by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 758,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diametric Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Ameresco by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 13,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMRC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Ameresco from $34.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group cut shares of Ameresco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $8.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Ameresco in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Ameresco from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Baird R W cut Ameresco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.86.

Ameresco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMRC opened at $10.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $527.72 million, a PE ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.33. Ameresco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $39.68.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. Ameresco had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 3.18%. The company had revenue of $532.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. On average, research analysts predict that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ameresco

In other news, CEO George P. Sakellaris acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.27 per share, for a total transaction of $231,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 978,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,071,974.26. This trade represents a 2.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer L. Miller sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total transaction of $842,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,758.50. The trade was a 69.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 80,808 shares of company stock valued at $785,274 and have sold 40,085 shares valued at $843,378. 42.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc, a clean technology integrator, provides a portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy supply solutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Regions, U.S. Federal, Canada, Europe, Alternative Fuels, and All Other segments. The company offers energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, energy security and resilience, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations.