Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 4,049,872 Shares of WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WSC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:WSC) by 149.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,751,072 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,049,872 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.52% of WillScot Mobile Mini worth $300,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WillScot Mobile Mini by 1,063.6% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WillScot Mobile Mini in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WillScot Mobile Mini in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,000. PFG Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of WillScot Mobile Mini in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WillScot Mobile Mini in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Institutional investors own 95.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of WillScot Mobile Mini from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of WillScot Mobile Mini from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of WillScot Mobile Mini from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (down previously from $60.00) on shares of WillScot Mobile Mini in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WillScot Mobile Mini from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey Sagansky sold 75,000 shares of WillScot Mobile Mini stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.50, for a total value of $3,562,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,420,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,992,987.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other WillScot Mobile Mini news, Director Jeffrey Sagansky sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.50, for a total value of $3,562,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,420,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,992,987.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bradley Lee Soultz bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.44 per share, for a total transaction of $192,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,064,717.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

WillScot Mobile Mini Stock Performance

WSC traded down $1.35 on Wednesday, hitting $40.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 573,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,335. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. has a 12 month low of $34.40 and a 12 month high of $52.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.19.

WillScot Mobile Mini (NASDAQ:WSC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $587.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.98 million. WillScot Mobile Mini had a return on equity of 24.14% and a net margin of 13.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

About WillScot Mobile Mini

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers.