Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,176 Shares of Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. $STRL

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 409,951 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 47,176 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.35% of Sterling Infrastructure worth $139,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sterling Infrastructure in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sterling Infrastructure in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Sterling Infrastructure in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sterling Infrastructure by 119.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 125 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 80.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sterling Infrastructure

In related news, Director Dwayne Andree Wilson sold 2,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,749 shares in the company, valued at $5,162,150. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sterling Infrastructure Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Sterling Infrastructure stock opened at $367.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.07, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $329.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.84. Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.34 and a 52-week high of $419.14.

Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The construction company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.79 by $0.69. Sterling Infrastructure had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 29.81%. The company had revenue of $689.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sterling Infrastructure announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sterling Infrastructure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Sterling Infrastructure in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $413.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Sterling Infrastructure from $355.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sterling Infrastructure has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.50.

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.