EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) Short Interest Up 17.0% in February

EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 934,600 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the February 13th total of 798,900 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 477,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

EMCOR Group Price Performance

NYSE:EME traded up $12.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $399.18. 412,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,921. The business has a 50 day moving average of $438.93 and a 200 day moving average of $450.21. The company has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.14. EMCOR Group has a 1-year low of $319.49 and a 1-year high of $545.30.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The construction company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.53 by $0.79. EMCOR Group had a return on equity of 34.99% and a net margin of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EMCOR Group will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EMCOR Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the construction company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

EMCOR Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. EMCOR Group’s payout ratio is presently 4.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EME has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on EMCOR Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $445.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on EMCOR Group from $600.00 to $514.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Northcoast Research began coverage on EMCOR Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded EMCOR Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, EMCOR Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Maxine Lum Mauricio sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.07, for a total value of $462,587.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,229,474.94. This represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EMCOR Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in EMCOR Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,612,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $694,351,000 after buying an additional 24,541 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in EMCOR Group by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,318,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,465,000 after acquiring an additional 288,765 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in EMCOR Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,064,003 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $482,951,000 after purchasing an additional 16,563 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of EMCOR Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,022,170 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $463,320,000 after acquiring an additional 25,502 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter valued at $299,855,000. Institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

About EMCOR Group

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.