Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) Shares Up 8.6% – Still a Buy?

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) shares were up 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $365.00 and last traded at $363.0540. Approximately 115,736 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 647,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STRL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sterling Infrastructure in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.00.

Sterling Infrastructure Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $356.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.20. The firm has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.39.

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 3rd. The construction company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $403.58 million during the quarter. Sterling Infrastructure had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 27.93%. Analysts expect that Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sterling Infrastructure

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 6.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,682,995 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $303,742,000 after buying an additional 159,191 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,498,999 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,702,000 after acquiring an additional 105,222 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Sterling Infrastructure by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,131,751 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,129,000 after acquiring an additional 433,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 955,387 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $324,526,000 after purchasing an additional 219,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 739,302 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,600,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. 80.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sterling Infrastructure

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc engages in the provision of e-infrastructure, transportation, and building solutions primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: E-Infrastructure Solutions, Transportation Solutions, and Building Solutions. The E-Infrastructure Solutions segment provides site development services for the blue-chip end users in the e-commerce distribution center, data center, manufacturing, warehousing, and power generation sectors.