Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) Shares Down 5.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL)’s share price fell 5.3% during trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $304.46 and last traded at $309.75. 102,976 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 339,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $327.11.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on STRL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sterling Infrastructure in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sterling Infrastructure has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sterling Infrastructure

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STRL. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 62.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 29.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 955,387 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $324,526,000 after purchasing an additional 219,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sterling Infrastructure by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 739,302 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,600,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Sterling Infrastructure by 84.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 654,096 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $222,184,000 after purchasing an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 83.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 606,236 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $205,926,000 after buying an additional 275,830 shares during the period. 80.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sterling Infrastructure Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.96.

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 3rd. The construction company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $403.58 million for the quarter. Sterling Infrastructure had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 29.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Sterling Infrastructure

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc (NASDAQ: STRL) is a diversified manufacturer and distributor of essential infrastructure products serving municipal, utility and industrial customers across North America. Through its network of wholly owned subsidiaries, the company designs, engineers and produces a wide range of cast and fabricated solutions tailored to the needs of the waterworks, natural gas, telecommunications, electric, traffic safety and parks & recreation markets.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses ductile iron and composite fittings, valve boxes, manhole frames and covers, water and gas meter sets, street light poles and mounting accessories, traffic sign posts with breakaway systems, bollards and related system components.