Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) Short Interest Up 26.7% in November

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 679,100 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the October 31st total of 536,200 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 328,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FIX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $524.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Comfort Systems USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Comfort Systems USA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $396.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $481.00.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

NYSE:FIX traded down $3.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $489.53. 215,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 381,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $426.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $359.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Comfort Systems USA has a twelve month low of $185.83 and a twelve month high of $510.79.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The construction company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.12. Comfort Systems USA had a net margin of 7.18% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Comfort Systems USA will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Comfort Systems USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Comfort Systems USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO T Mckenna Trent sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.81, for a total transaction of $1,939,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,630,591.90. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.88, for a total transaction of $6,733,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 204,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,663,540.40. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,200 shares of company stock valued at $15,431,250. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the third quarter worth about $1,484,000. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Comfort Systems USA in the first quarter worth approximately $971,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 99,553 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,327,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA in the 1st quarter worth $1,192,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Comfort Systems USA Company Profile

Comfort Systems USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection.