Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Stock Price Down 7.7% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Parsons Corporation (NYSE:PSN) dropped 7.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $48.38 and last traded at $48.1930. 656,221 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 1,255,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PSN. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Parsons in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Parsons from $78.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Parsons from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp lowered Parsons from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Parsons from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.92.

Parsons Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.20 and a 200-day moving average of $60.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Parsons (NYSE:PSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.09. Parsons had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 3.62%.The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Parsons Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Parsons news, CEO Carey A. Smith acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.97 per share, for a total transaction of $624,625.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,751,538.72. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Keith Holdsworth acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $51.27 per share, with a total value of $512,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 39,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,046,595.86. This trade represents a 33.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 32,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,325. 1.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Parsons

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Parsons by 0.9% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 17,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Parsons by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 47,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in Parsons by 32.5% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Parsons by 38.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Parsons by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.02% of the company’s stock.

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.