Insider Selling: IES (NASDAQ:IESC) CEO Sells $4,607,680.00 in Stock

IES Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC) CEO Matthew Simmes sold 7,000 shares of IES stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.24, for a total value of $4,607,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,987,128. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

IES Stock Performance

IESC stock opened at $666.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.56 and a beta of 1.81. IES Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $235.99 and a 52-week high of $688.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $456.24.

IES (NASDAQ:IESC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The technology company reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $974.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. IES had a return on equity of 33.97% and a net margin of 10.40%.

IES News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting IES this week:

• Positive Sentiment: IES reported quarterly earnings of $4.16 per share, topping analyst estimates of $3.95 and reinforcing the company’s strong profitability profile. Revenue came in below expectations, but the earnings beat may still support the stock’s higher valuation. IES earnings and stock page
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street Zen recently upgraded IESC from “buy” to “strong-buy,” while Freedom Capital downgraded the stock from “strong-buy” to “hold.” The mixed analyst signals suggest some disagreement about how much upside remains after the stock’s sharp run. Article on Freedom Capital downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Matthew Simmes sold 7,000 shares, and Director Todd M. Cleveland sold 11,578 shares plus an additional 922 shares in separate transactions. Large insider sales can raise concern that executives and directors see less near-term upside at current levels. Insider selling alert
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell also sold 40,103 shares and then another 7,052 shares, adding to the negative sentiment around insider activity. Although the sales were small relative to his overall stake, the pace of selling may weigh on investor confidence. SEC filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IESC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $458.00 target price on shares of IES in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Freedom Capital cut shares of IES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of IES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $458.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IES

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IESC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of IES by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,904 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of IES by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 22,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,762,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of IES in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $365,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of IES in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of IES by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 91,567 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,125,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

About IES

IES Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: IESC) is a specialty contractor providing integrated electrical and mechanical construction services, engineering, and systems integration across North America. The company focuses on delivering end-to-end solutions for commercial, industrial and mission-critical facilities, combining design, build, commission and maintenance capabilities to serve a wide range of markets.

Through its subsidiaries, IES offers a comprehensive portfolio of services including electrical distribution and infrastructure, mechanical contracting, process piping, controls and automation, energy management, and ongoing service and maintenance.