Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $70.21, but opened at $60.78. Parsons shares last traded at $61.81, with a volume of 780,510 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Parsons had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Parsons’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PSN shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Parsons from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Parsons from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Parsons from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen raised shares of Parsons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Parsons from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Parsons

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Parsons by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,077,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,011,000 after acquiring an additional 130,694 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Parsons by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,331,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,363,000 after purchasing an additional 217,342 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Parsons by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,889,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,594,000 after buying an additional 793,807 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Parsons by 2.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,682,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,511,000 after buying an additional 45,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Parsons by 20.3% in the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,671,000 after buying an additional 215,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.02% of the company’s stock.

Parsons Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.66.

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.