Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Shares Up 7% on Insider Buying Activity

Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN)’s share price shot up 7% during trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $52.22 and last traded at $52.1460. 347,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,273,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.74.

Specifically, CEO Carey A. Smith purchased 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.97 per share, with a total value of $624,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,751,538.72. This represents a 2.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PSN. Truist Financial cut their price target on Parsons from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Parsons from $78.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Parsons in a research note on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp downgraded Parsons from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Parsons from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Parsons currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.17.

Parsons Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Parsons (NYSE:PSN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Parsons had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Parsons Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Parsons

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Parsons in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Parsons during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Parsons during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Parsons during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Parsons during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 98.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Parsons

Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) is a technology-driven engineering, construction, technical and professional services firm. The company delivers end-to-end solutions that span feasibility studies, design and engineering, construction management, system integration and ongoing operations support. Parsons serves both government and commercial clients and focuses on critical infrastructure, defense, security, intelligence and environmental programs.

Core services include program and construction management for transportation systems, water and environmental infrastructure, cybersecurity and advanced systems integration.