Quanta Services price target raised to $342 from $283 at Stifel

Stifel analyst Brian Brophy raised the firm’s price target on Quanta Services to $342 from $283 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Main takeaways from the firm’s Q3 transmission & distribution E&C survey include a notable sequential improvement in T&D activity in the quarter, in part driven by improved emergency restoration demand amid recent hurricane activity, and relatively softer trends continuing in gas distribution, the analyst tells investors. The firm is slightly raising its second half estimates for Quanta to reflect margin mix benefits from emergency restoration, the analyst noted. The firm continues to believe the recent rally in utility equities, lower interest rates, and load growth from data centers, on-shoring, and electrification bode well for the T&D outlook and believes improving second half T&D activity “could prove to be a notable catalyst for the space,” the analyst added.