IES (NASDAQ:IESC) Shares Down 4% – Time to Sell?

IES Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC) dropped 4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $287.10 and last traded at $287.60. Approximately 66,201 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 134,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at $299.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of IES from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

IES Trading Down 5.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.44 and its 200 day moving average is $180.10.

IES declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, August 2nd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 5.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at IES

In related news, Director Todd M. Cleveland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $1,535,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 104,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,071,714.78. This represents a 8.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey L. Et Al Gendell sold 37,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.20, for a total value of $5,982,989.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,934,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,751,762,169. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 105,208 shares of company stock worth $16,967,207 over the last quarter. 59.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IES

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IESC. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IES during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,328,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IES by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of IES by 27.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,720 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in IES in the 2nd quarter worth about $934,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in IES in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,426,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IES

IES Holdings, Inc engages in the design and installation of integrated electrical and technology systems, and provides infrastructure products and services in the United States. The Communications segment designs, installs, and maintains network infrastructure within data centers for co-location and managed hosting customers; corporate, educational, financial, hospitality, and healthcare buildings; e-commerce distribution centers; and high-tech manufacturing facilities.