Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $61.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.11 and traded as low as $24.89. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ameresco shares last traded at $25.8040, with a volume of 729,336 shares trading hands.

AMRC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameresco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Ameresco from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Ameresco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ameresco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameresco from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameresco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.71.

Insider Activity

In other Ameresco news, Director Joseph W. Sutton purchased 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $202,439.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 80,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,674,734.02. This represents a 13.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jennifer L. Miller purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $41,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 34,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $724,084.16. This represents a 6.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 29,325 shares of company stock valued at $628,664 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.10% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Ameresco

Investors following AMRC have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating and set a $61 target, while Cantor Fitzgerald also kept its Buy rating. These recommendations indicate continued analyst optimism. Cantor Fitzgerald rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks included Ameresco in a screen for stocks with strong momentum and reasonable valuations. The screen is a stock-selection signal, not a guarantee of future returns. Zacks momentum screen
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its target to $37 from $38 and Canaccord lowered its target to $61 from $62. Both firms retained Buy ratings, but the reductions temper the otherwise positive analyst picture.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameresco

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMRC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameresco by 458.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new stake in shares of Ameresco during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 550.8% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ameresco during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ameresco during the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 99.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameresco Trading Down 2.7%

The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.11.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $580.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.89 million. Ameresco had a net margin of 2.01% and a return on equity of 4.68%. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc. is a clean-energy and energy-efficiency company that develops, designs, builds, and operates projects for public- and private-sector customers. Its clients include federal, state and local government agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, utilities, and commercial and industrial businesses. The company’s services include improving the energy performance of buildings and infrastructure, developing renewable-energy projects, and providing distributed energy systems, microgrids, energy storage, and related operations and maintenance.