Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $61.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.11 and traded as low as $24.89. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ameresco shares last traded at $25.8040, with a volume of 729,336 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Ameresco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $34.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ameresco in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ameresco in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Ameresco from $44.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Ameresco from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $36.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian C. Cox purchased 4,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.64 per share, for a total transaction of $100,085.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 44,325 shares in the company, valued at $959,193. The trade was a 11.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph W. Sutton acquired 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.87 per share, for a total transaction of $202,439.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 80,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,674,734.02. The trade was a 13.75% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 29,325 shares of company stock valued at $628,664 in the last three months. 45.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Ameresco

These are some of the AMRC stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded AMRC from “strong sell” to “strong buy.” Zacks also noted that upward earnings-estimate revisions could support near-term performance. Zacks analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating and set a $61 target, while Cantor Fitzgerald also kept its Buy rating. These recommendations indicate continued analyst optimism. Cantor Fitzgerald rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks included Ameresco in a screen for stocks with strong momentum and reasonable valuations. The screen is a stock-selection signal, not a guarantee of future returns. Zacks momentum screen

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameresco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ameresco by 13.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,439,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,711,000 after purchasing an additional 167,068 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Ameresco by 10.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,100,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,784,000 after buying an additional 101,982 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 896,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,565,000 after buying an additional 69,865 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ameresco by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 857,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,680,000 after buying an additional 42,826 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Ameresco by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 225,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,754,000 after buying an additional 17,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.24% of the company’s stock.

Ameresco Stock Down 2.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.73 and its 200-day moving average is $26.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 2.50.

Ameresco (NYSE:AMRC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $580.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.89 million. Ameresco had a return on equity of 4.68% and a net margin of 2.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameresco, Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Ameresco

Ameresco, Inc. is a clean-energy and energy-efficiency company that develops, designs, builds, and operates projects for public- and private-sector customers. Its clients include federal, state and local government agencies, schools, healthcare organizations, utilities, and commercial and industrial businesses. The company’s services include improving the energy performance of buildings and infrastructure, developing renewable-energy projects, and providing distributed energy systems, microgrids, energy storage, and related operations and maintenance.