Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in IES Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in IES Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC - Free Report) by 56.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,269 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,636 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in IES were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of IES in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,116,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of IES in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,887,000. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of IES by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the technology company's stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of IES by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of IES in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,092,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of IES from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

IES Stock Performance

IESC stock traded up $7.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $278.01. 254,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,294. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.56. IES Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $297.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75 and a beta of 1.37.

IES declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, August 2nd that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 5.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at IES

In other news, CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 37,347 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.20, for a total transaction of $5,982,989.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,934,845 shares in the company, valued at $1,751,762,169. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Gendell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.26, for a total transaction of $1,872,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 127,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,964,785.76. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,208 shares of company stock valued at $16,967,207 in the last 90 days. 59.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

IES Profile

IES Holdings, Inc engages in the design and installation of integrated electrical and technology systems, and provides infrastructure products and services in the United States. The Communications segment designs, installs, and maintains network infrastructure within data centers for co-location and managed hosting customers; corporate, educational, financial, hospitality, and healthcare buildings; e-commerce distribution centers; and high-tech manufacturing facilities.