Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Centuri Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CTRI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $27.64 and last traded at $27.4770, with a volume of 387195 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Centuri from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Centuri in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Centuri from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Centuri from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centuri has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.50.

Centuri Trading Up 4.7%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 929.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $848.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $762.06 million. Centuri had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 0.09%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Centuri Holdings, Inc. will post 0.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centuri news, CEO Christian Brown sold 7,108 shares of Centuri stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $174,217.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,401.39. The trade was a 24.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 3,488,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.50 per share, for a total transaction of $74,999,998.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,336,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $308,224,946. This represents a 32.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centuri

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Centuri by 164.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 153,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 95,585 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Centuri by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in Centuri by 146.9% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centuri by 238.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centuri during the second quarter worth approximately $431,000.

Centuri Company Profile

Centuri Construction Group, Inc (NYSE: CTRI) is a heavy civil contractor specializing in water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The company delivers end-to-end services encompassing design-build, engineering, procurement and construction for water transmission mains, wastewater force mains, treatment facilities, pump and lift stations, and stormwater management systems.

Centuri’s core offerings include pipeline installation and rehabilitation, civil sitework, earthwork, structural concrete and slope protection.