Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) Sets New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $477.03 and last traded at $444.7110, with a volume of 154909 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $455.25.

The construction company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.45. Sterling Infrastructure had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 34.26%. The firm had revenue of $755.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.41 million. Sterling Infrastructure has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.450-14.050 EPS.

Sterling Infrastructure declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Sterling Infrastructure News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Sterling Infrastructure this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat across the board: EPS and revenue topped consensus, driven by outsized growth in the E‑Infrastructure (data‑center) business; management issued FY2026 guidance well above Street estimates (EPS $13.45–14.05; revenue $3.05–3.20B). Sterling Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Stock Up
• Positive Sentiment: Company press release and slide deck confirm “strong fourth quarter” and elevated FY2026 targets — this is the primary catalyst behind the intraday trading activity and revised revenue/earnings outlook. Sterling Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results and Issues Full Year 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha coverage upgraded STRL to a “buy” after the quarter, highlighting that E‑Infrastructure now represents roughly 70% of revenue and grew triple digits YoY (management cited large hyperscaler demand and a $3.01B signed backlog). Sterling Infrastructure Q4 Earnings: The AI Data Center Powerhouse Explodes (Upgrade)
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and the conference call transcript provide detail on margin expansion in E‑Infrastructure and backlog conversion timing — useful for modeling revenue cadence and margin assumptions. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts (Sidoti) updated forward quarter and full‑year forecasts, increasing FY2027 estimates — this institutional re‑research supports the higher guidance but also increases expectations going forward. MarketBeat STRL coverage (Sidoti estimates)
• Positive Sentiment: Industry context: Zacks highlights STRL as a beneficiary of the AI data‑center buildout, which should sustain elevated E‑Infrastructure demand and justify higher margin assumptions over the next several years. Buy 5 Construction Stocks Set to Soar on AI-Powered Data Center Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Risk factors: valuation appears rich after the run (high P/E and PEG), the stock is volatile (elevated beta), and short‑term pullbacks/profit‑taking are possible if backlog conversion timing slips or margins normalize.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STRL. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Sterling Infrastructure in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $413.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson boosted 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. Zacks Research cut shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $486.00 target price on shares of Sterling Infrastructure and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $453.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dwayne Andree Wilson sold 2,860 shares of Sterling Infrastructure stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,001,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,150. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dana C. O’brien sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $820,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,714,180. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,860 shares of company stock worth $2,611,000 in the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sterling Infrastructure

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 62.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,131,751 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $261,129,000 after purchasing an additional 433,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sterling Infrastructure by 82.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 735,910 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $169,797,000 after acquiring an additional 333,013 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 84.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 654,096 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $222,184,000 after acquiring an additional 299,724 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 83.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 606,236 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $205,926,000 after acquiring an additional 275,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 364,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $123,925,000 after acquiring an additional 186,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

Sterling Infrastructure Stock Down 4.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $363.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.88. The company has a market cap of $13.31 billion, a PE ratio of 46.25, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.51.

Sterling Infrastructure Company Profile

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc (NASDAQ: STRL) is a diversified manufacturer and distributor of essential infrastructure products serving municipal, utility and industrial customers across North America. Through its network of wholly owned subsidiaries, the company designs, engineers and produces a wide range of cast and fabricated solutions tailored to the needs of the waterworks, natural gas, telecommunications, electric, traffic safety and parks & recreation markets.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses ductile iron and composite fittings, valve boxes, manhole frames and covers, water and gas meter sets, street light poles and mounting accessories, traffic sign posts with breakaway systems, bollards and related system components.