Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) Short Interest Down 29.4% in March

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 726,700 shares, a drop of 29.4% from the February 28th total of 1,030,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 524,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Comfort Systems USA Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:FIX traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $322.56. 819,965 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,146. Comfort Systems USA has a 12-month low of $272.93 and a 12-month high of $553.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $390.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $419.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 1.24.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The construction company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 35.28% and a net margin of 7.43%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Comfort Systems USA will post 16.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Comfort Systems USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Comfort Systems USA’s payout ratio is presently 10.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comfort Systems USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Comfort Systems USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $217,771,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,154,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 191.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 380,896 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $161,523,000 after purchasing an additional 250,085 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Comfort Systems USA by 824.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 233,553 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,985,000 after purchasing an additional 208,283 shares during the period. Finally, Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC raised its holdings in Comfort Systems USA by 307.2% in the fourth quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC now owns 205,723 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $87,239,000 after purchasing an additional 155,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on FIX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Comfort Systems USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Comfort Systems USA from $577.00 to $471.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti raised Comfort Systems USA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $552.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Comfort Systems USA from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Comfort Systems USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.75.

Comfort Systems USA Company Profile

Comfort Systems USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection.