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Quanta Services shares climb as 1Q beats estimates

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May 7, 2008

NEW YORK—Shares of Quanta Services Inc. surged on Wednesday after the utility and telecommunication infrastructure company said its first-quarter profit fell, but still beat analyst estimates.

The stock gained $1.96, or 7.4 percent, to $28.30.

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst Alex Rygiel reiterated his "Outperform" rating and $32 price target on the Houston-based company and predicted it would benefit substantially from higher electric utility spending in the future.

While the company did not provide figures on backlog, he predicted it could increase modestly thanks to possible contracts in wind and other energy projects.

Separately, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Tahira Azfal maintained her "Buy" rating and $33 price target on the stock, saying Quanta has a strong position in the electric transmission end-market.

Early Wednesday, Quanta said its first-quarter profit fell 22 percent to 14 cents per share, beating analyst estimates by 2 cents, according to Thomson Financial. The company also predicted second-quarter earnings in line with analyst estimates.

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