Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,011 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,881 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Comfort Systems USA were worth $168,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 30 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 40 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 44 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FIX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. DA Davidson upped their target price on Comfort Systems USA from $1,200.00 to $1,800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Comfort Systems USA from $1,611.00 to $1,819.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Glj Research initiated coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,001.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,991.50.

Insider Transactions at Comfort Systems USA

In other news, CFO William George III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,020.96, for a total value of $2,020,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,295,571.84. The trade was a 2.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie Shaeff sold 1,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,000.37, for a total value of $2,246,415.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,252,670.88. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,078 shares of company stock worth $46,651,175. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

Shares of FIX opened at $1,828.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,754.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,370.35. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 52 week low of $469.16 and a 52 week high of $2,073.99. The stock has a market cap of $64.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.75 and a beta of 1.65.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $10.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.81 by $3.70. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 51.69% and a net margin of 12.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 43.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Comfort Systems USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Comfort Systems USA’s payout ratio is presently 9.23%.

Comfort Systems USA Company Profile

Comfort Systems USA, Inc is a U.S.-based mechanical contracting company that provides a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers. The company focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, and it supports projects from initial engineering and system selection through long-term service agreements and upgrades.

Its service offerings include new construction and retrofit installations, preventive and corrective maintenance, emergency repair, energy management and building automation systems.