Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) Stock Price Up 10.2% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) rose 10.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $10.29 and last traded at $10.56. Approximately 103,705 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 651,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMRC. UBS Group downgraded Ameresco from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $37.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Ameresco from $34.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Ameresco in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Ameresco from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Baird R W cut Ameresco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameresco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.86.

Ameresco Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.72 million, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.02.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $532.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. Ameresco had a return on equity of 5.68% and a net margin of 3.18%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jennifer L. Miller sold 40,000 shares of Ameresco stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.06, for a total value of $842,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,758.50. The trade was a 69.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George P. Sakellaris purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.27 per share, with a total value of $231,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 978,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,071,974.26. The trade was a 2.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 80,808 shares of company stock valued at $785,274 and have sold 40,085 shares valued at $843,378. 42.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameresco

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Ameresco by 124.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 838,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,682,000 after purchasing an additional 464,737 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in shares of Ameresco by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 613,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,403,000 after buying an additional 229,128 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,159,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,230,000 after buying an additional 214,918 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameresco by 731.8% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 230,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after buying an additional 202,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 87.7% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 421,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,888,000 after acquiring an additional 196,776 shares during the last quarter. 99.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameresco Company Profile

Ameresco, Inc, a clean technology integrator, provides a portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy supply solutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Regions, U.S. Federal, Canada, Europe, Alternative Fuels, and All Other segments. The company offers energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, energy security and resilience, asset sustainability, and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations.