Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) Short Interest Down 15.6% in October

Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,050,000 shares, a drop of 15.6% from the September 30th total of 4,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 759,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Quanta Services Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:PWR traded up $5.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $313.36. The company had a trading volume of 700,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,518. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Quanta Services has a 1 year low of $153.74 and a 1 year high of $317.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.12 and a beta of 1.01.

Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.15. Quanta Services had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 3.59%. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Quanta Services will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quanta Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Quanta Services's payout ratio is 6.79%.

Insider Activity at Quanta Services

In related news, insider Gerald A. Ducey, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.93, for a total value of $3,868,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,490,297.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Gerald A. Ducey, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.93, for a total value of $3,868,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,490,297.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Earl C. Jr. Austin sold 130,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.21, for a total value of $34,087,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 593,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $155,595,938.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 202,357 shares of company stock valued at $53,115,572 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quanta Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PWR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Quanta Services by 11.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,881 shares of the construction company's stock worth $9,062,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Quanta Services during the first quarter worth about $328,000. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Quanta Services by 927.0% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 914 shares of the construction company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Quanta Services by 57.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 252,249 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $65,534,000 after buying an additional 92,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Quanta Services by 0.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,848 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $10,353,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PWR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Quanta Services from $283.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Northland Securities raised their price target on Quanta Services from $264.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Quanta Services from $302.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Quanta Services in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Quanta Services in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $313.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.07.

Quanta Services Company Profile

Quanta Services, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for the electric and gas utility, renewable energy, communications, and pipeline and energy industries in the United States, Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company's Electric Power Infrastructure Solutions segment engages in the design, procurement, construction, upgrade, repair, and maintenance of electric power transmission and distribution infrastructure and substation facilities; installation, maintenance, and upgrade of electric power infrastructure projects; installation of smart grid technologies on electric power networks; and design, installation, maintenance, and repair of commercial and industrial wirings.