Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. $STRL

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,370 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the period. Sterling Infrastructure accounts for about 1.2% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned 0.27% of Sterling Infrastructure worth $28,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure by 62.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,131,751 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $261,129,000 after acquiring an additional 433,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 82.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 735,910 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $169,797,000 after purchasing an additional 333,013 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Sterling Infrastructure during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,931,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Sterling Infrastructure by 61.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 354,372 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $81,764,000 after purchasing an additional 135,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aperture Investors LLC purchased a new position in Sterling Infrastructure in the second quarter worth about $23,945,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.95% of the company’s stock.

Sterling Infrastructure Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:STRL opened at $431.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a PE ratio of 42.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $340.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $332.13. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.34 and a 12 month high of $470.00.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sterling Infrastructure news, Director Dwayne Andree Wilson sold 2,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,162,150. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dana C. O’brien sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total value of $820,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,498 shares in the company, valued at $4,714,180. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,860 shares of company stock valued at $2,611,000. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on STRL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Sterling Infrastructure in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $413.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research cut Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $486.00 price target on Sterling Infrastructure and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sterling Infrastructure presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $453.00.

About Sterling Infrastructure

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc (NASDAQ: STRL) is a diversified manufacturer and distributor of essential infrastructure products serving municipal, utility and industrial customers across North America. Through its network of wholly owned subsidiaries, the company designs, engineers and produces a wide range of cast and fabricated solutions tailored to the needs of the waterworks, natural gas, telecommunications, electric, traffic safety and parks & recreation markets.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses ductile iron and composite fittings, valve boxes, manhole frames and covers, water and gas meter sets, street light poles and mounting accessories, traffic sign posts with breakaway systems, bollards and related system components.