Zacks Strategist Shaun Pruitt Discusses Sterling Infrastructure's Stock at All-Time Highs

Company Overview - Sterling Infrastructure stock has gained notoriety amid President Joe Biden's $12 trillion infrastructure bill [1] - The company is a top performer in the industrial product sector and has continued to hit new all-time highs [2] - Sterling Infrastructure's total backlog currently stands at around $2 billion, providing a solid cushion for future revenue [8] Stock Performance - STRL has spiked nearly 100% over the last year and is up more than 40% year to date [3] - The stock has seen gains of more than 2,400% in the last 5 years [3] - Sterling Infrastructure stock lends a Zach's rank number three hold at the moment [14] Strategic Initiatives - Sterling Infrastructure announced in June that it will be acquiring CEC facilities group for $55 million, expanding its reach into mission critical electrical contracting for semiconductors and other data center projects [5] - The CEC acquisition is expected to add nearly $400 million to Sterling Infrastructure's topline this year alone and over $50 million in EBITDA [5] - Sterling Infrastructure has secured several AI related projects, including one with a reward of up to $100 million for a massive data center development in the southeastern United States [5] - The company focuses on high margin projects such as AI endeavors and the Hyundai engineering America facility in Georgia [6] Financial Outlook - Sterling Infrastructure's total sales are expected to dip 1% in fiscal 2025 to around $209 billion, but are expected to rebound in fiscal year 26 and rise about 8% to a new peak of $226 billion [9] - Sterling Infrastructure's bottom line is slated to expand 41% in fiscal year 25 to new peaks of $861 per share from record EPS of $610 last year [9] - Fiscal year 26 EPS is projected to spike another 10% to $948 [10] Valuation - Sterling Infrastructure stock trades at 281% times forward earnings, a slight premium to the benchmark S&P 500's 242% times forward earnings multiple and it Zach's engineering R&D services industry average of 227% times [11]