Centuri (NYSE:CTRI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Centuri Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CTRI) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $29.01 and last traded at $28.4750, with a volume of 572698 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Centuri from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Centuri in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Centuri from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. 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, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Centuri in a research note on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.40.

Centuri Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 949.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Centuri

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Centuri by 6.5% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Centuri by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Centuri by 288.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Centuri by 13,385.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Centuri by 10.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,228 shares in the last quarter.

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.