Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 679,100 shares, a growth of 26.7% from the October 31st total of 536,200 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 328,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comfort Systems USA news, COO T Mckenna Trent sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.81, for a total value of $1,939,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 23,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,630,591.90. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vance W. Tang sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $1,053,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,144,220. This represents a 32.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,200 shares of company stock worth $15,431,250 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comfort Systems USA

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIX. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Comfort Systems USA during the third quarter valued at $1,484,000. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comfort Systems USA in the 1st quarter worth about $971,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Comfort Systems USA by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 99,553 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 14,090 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Comfort Systems USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,327,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Comfort Systems USA during the first quarter worth about $1,192,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comfort Systems USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FIX traded down $3.74 on Monday, hitting $489.53. 215,828 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,843. Comfort Systems USA has a one year low of $185.83 and a one year high of $510.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.73 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $426.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The construction company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. Comfort Systems USA had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 7.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Comfort Systems USA will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Comfort Systems USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Comfort Systems USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Comfort Systems USA’s payout ratio is 10.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FIX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Comfort Systems USA in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $524.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Comfort Systems USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Comfort Systems USA in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $525.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised Comfort Systems USA from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $396.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $481.00.

About Comfort Systems USA

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.