Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $599,000 Position in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. $STRL

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,763 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in STRL. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sterling Infrastructure in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 76.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 81 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 80.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sterling Infrastructure

In related news, Director Dwayne Andree Wilson sold 2,860 shares of Sterling Infrastructure 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dana C. O’brien sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $820,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,714,180. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,860 shares of company stock valued at $2,611,000 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Sterling Infrastructure Price Performance

Shares of STRL stock opened at $415.13 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.70, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $349.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $337.69. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.34 and a 12 month high of $470.00.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on STRL shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $486.00 price target on Sterling Infrastructure and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Sterling Infrastructure in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $413.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $453.00.

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.