Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. $STRL

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,810 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,983 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.09% of Sterling Infrastructure worth $6,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 62.6% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,406 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 133.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,718 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 12,395 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 5.4% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Sterling Infrastructure by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,960 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 80.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sterling Infrastructure Trading Up 1.3%

STRL opened at $344.34 on Monday. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.34 and a 52 week high of $419.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $357.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.39.

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 3rd. The construction company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Sterling Infrastructure had a return on equity of 27.93% and a net margin of 13.33%.The firm had revenue of $403.58 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sterling Infrastructure in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sterling Infrastructure presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.00.

Sterling Infrastructure Profile

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc engages in the provision of e-infrastructure, transportation, and building solutions primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: E-Infrastructure Solutions, Transportation Solutions, and Building Solutions. The E-Infrastructure Solutions segment provides site development services for the blue-chip end users in the e-commerce distribution center, data center, manufacturing, warehousing, and power generation sectors.