Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,640,000 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the January 31st total of 4,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Parsons during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Parsons by 28,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Parsons by 224.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.02% of the company’s stock.

Parsons Price Performance

Parsons stock opened at $60.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 79.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Parsons has a 12-month low of $54.56 and a 12-month high of $114.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PSN shares. Raymond James cut Parsons from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Parsons in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Parsons from $122.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Parsons from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Parsons from $130.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Parsons presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.44.

Parsons Company Profile

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments. The Federal Solutions segment provides critical technologies, such as cybersecurity; missile defense; intelligence; space launch and ground systems; space and weapon system resiliency; geospatial intelligence; signals intelligence; environmental remediation; border security, critical infrastructure protection; counter unmanned air systems; biometrics and bio surveillance solutions to U.S.