Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. $STRL

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,951 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 47,176 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sterling Infrastructure were worth $139,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the second quarter worth $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sterling Infrastructure in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on STRL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Sterling Infrastructure in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $413.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Sterling Infrastructure from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.50.

Sterling Infrastructure Stock Performance

Shares of STRL stock opened at $367.95 on Tuesday. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.34 and a 52-week high of $419.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.84.

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The construction company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $689.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $618.80 million. Sterling Infrastructure had a return on equity of 29.81% and a net margin of 14.14%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dwayne Andree Wilson sold 2,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,001,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,150. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Sterling Infrastructure Profile

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.