Royce & Associates LP Lowers Holdings in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX - Free Report) by 74.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,422 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 18,624 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Comfort Systems USA were worth $2,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 34.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 103,730 shares of the construction company's stock worth $32,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,616 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA in the third quarter worth about $1,484,000. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA in the first quarter worth about $971,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 99,553 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $38,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Comfort Systems USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,327,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FIX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $524.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Comfort Systems USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Comfort Systems USA from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $396.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $466.33.

Comfort Systems USA Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE FIX traded down $1.47 on Wednesday, hitting $472.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 167,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,304. The firm has a market cap of $16.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29 and a beta of 1.13. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.83 and a 52-week high of $481.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $404.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The construction company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.12. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 7.18%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Comfort Systems USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Comfort Systems USA's payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insider Activity at Comfort Systems USA

In related news, Director Darcy Anderson sold 3,546 shares of Comfort Systems USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.19, for a total transaction of $1,192,129.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,193 shares in the company, valued at $12,503,914.67. The trade was a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.88, for a total value of $6,733,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 204,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,663,540.40. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,746 shares of company stock worth $14,684,140 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection.