Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Comfort Systems USA, Inc. $FIX

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,710 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,438 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.19% of Comfort Systems USA worth $91,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FIX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,310,126 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,022,597,000 after buying an additional 625,567 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Comfort Systems USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $469,606,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Comfort Systems USA by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,428,674 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,333,367,000 after acquiring an additional 375,118 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,185,909 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,103,453,000 after acquiring an additional 332,441 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 37,987.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 310,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $289,349,000 after acquiring an additional 309,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

Comfort Systems USA stock opened at $1,728.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $60.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.51 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,833.30 and a 200-day moving average of $1,577.34. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. has a 52 week low of $655.96 and a 52 week high of $2,073.99.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The construction company reported $12.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.45 by $2.08. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 53.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 50.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Comfort Systems USA, Inc. will post 43.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from Comfort Systems USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Comfort Systems USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FIX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Comfort Systems USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Glj Research initiated coverage on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a report on Monday, April 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,001.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Comfort Systems USA from $2,004.00 to $2,110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2,200.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comfort Systems USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,057.86.

Insider Activity at Comfort Systems USA

In other news, Director Franklin Myers sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,954.47, for a total value of $13,094,949.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 62,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,401,904.05. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian E. Lane sold 11,113 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,969.84, for a total transaction of $21,890,831.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 161,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,319,555.76. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,778 shares of company stock worth $59,746,124 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

About Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc is a U.S.-based mechanical contracting company that provides a range of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services to commercial, industrial and institutional customers. The company focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and repair of HVAC systems, and it supports projects from initial engineering and system selection through long-term service agreements and upgrades.

Its service offerings include new construction and retrofit installations, preventive and corrective maintenance, emergency repair, energy management and building automation systems.