Parsons (NYSE:PSN) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Parsons (NYSE:PSN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

PSN has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Parsons from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Parsons in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Parsons from $66.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $75.00) on shares of Parsons in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Parsons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target for the company in a report on Sunday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Parsons currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

Parsons Price Performance

PSN stock opened at $47.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.37. Parsons has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $89.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.68.

Parsons (NYSE:PSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Parsons had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 2.50%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Parsons will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Keith Holdsworth acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $51.27 per share, for a total transaction of $512,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,046,595.86. This trade represents a 33.42% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George L. Ball bought 10,000 shares of Parsons stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 150,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,519,150. This represents a 7.12% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Parsons

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSN. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Parsons by 126.8% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,387,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,102 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Parsons by 151.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,061,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,173,000 after purchasing an additional 639,481 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Parsons by 142.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 833,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,499,000 after purchasing an additional 489,187 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Parsons during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,880,000. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC grew its stake in Parsons by 1,248.6% during the 1st quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 505,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,363,000 after purchasing an additional 467,672 shares in the last quarter. 98.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Parsons Company Profile

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.