Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Holdings in EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 58,637 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. EMCOR Group accounts for about 0.8% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in EMCOR Group were worth $26,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EME. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of EMCOR Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $299,855,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in EMCOR Group by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,318,494 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $598,465,000 after buying an additional 288,765 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in EMCOR Group by 2,246.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 142,578 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,036,000 after buying an additional 136,501 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of EMCOR Group by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 496,436 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $225,332,000 after acquiring an additional 129,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of EMCOR Group by 399.4% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 153,443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $69,648,000 after acquiring an additional 122,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other EMCOR Group news, CAO Maxine Lum Mauricio sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.07, for a total transaction of $462,587.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,229,474.94. This trade represents a 4.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EME. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on EMCOR Group from $600.00 to $514.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of EMCOR Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, EMCOR Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.25.

EMCOR Group Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:EME opened at $384.20 on Thursday. EMCOR Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $319.49 and a 12-month high of $545.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $387.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51 and a beta of 1.08.

EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The construction company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.53 by $0.79. EMCOR Group had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 34.99%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Research analysts forecast that EMCOR Group, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EMCOR Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

EMCOR Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. EMCOR Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.64%.

EMCOR Group Company Profile

EMCOR Group, Inc provides construction and facilities, building, and industrial services in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers design, integration, installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance services related to power transmission, distribution, and generation systems; energy solutions; premises electrical and lighting systems; process instrumentation; low-voltage systems; voice and data communications systems; roadway and transit lighting, signaling, and fiber optic lines; computerized traffic control systems, and signal and communication equipment; heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and geothermal solutions; clean-room process ventilation systems; fire protection and suppression systems; plumbing, process, and high-purity piping systems; controls and filtration systems; water and wastewater treatment systems; central plant heating and cooling systems; crane and rigging services; millwright services; and steel fabrication, erection, and welding services.