Fluor Co. (NYSE:FLR) Short Interest Up 33.6% in January

Fluor Co. (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,270,000 shares, an increase of 33.6% from the December 31st total of 6,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FLR. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Fluor from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W downgraded Fluor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Fluor from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Fluor from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Fluor from $51.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas P. D'agostino sold 7,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $433,131.59. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 137,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,780,353.86. This trade represents a 5.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark E. Fields sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $2,831,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 147,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,327,158.35. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fluor

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FLR. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Fluor by 2,509.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 548 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fluor in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Fluor by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,327 shares of the construction company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fluor by 826.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Fluor in the third quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Fluor Price Performance

NYSE:FLR traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.30. 2,717,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,703,004. Fluor has a twelve month low of $35.04 and a twelve month high of $60.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $51.85 and its 200-day moving average is $50.33. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.91.

Fluor (NYSE:FLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.74 billion. Fluor had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fluor will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Fluor

Fluor Corporation provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); fabrication and modularization; operation and maintenance; asset integrity; and project management services worldwide. The company operates through Energy Solutions, Urban Solutions, Mission Solutions, and Other segments. The Energy Solutions segment provides solutions to the energy transition markets, including asset decarbonization, carbon capture, renewable fuels, waste-to-energy, green chemicals, hydrogen, nuclear power, and other low-carbon energy sources.