Iceberg Research says Tutor Perini stock could fall 55 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iceberg Research on Wednesday said it expects construction company Tutor Perini Corp's share price to tumble as much as 55 percent, hurt by weak financials and weak corporate governance plus concerns whether planned infrastructure spending will become a reality.

In a report issued on Wednesday and seen by Reuters, Iceberg said shares could tumble to $13 a share. It fell 6 percent to trade at $27.05 in early trading on Wednesday.

Like other construction companies, Tutor Perini's stock surged after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential race and has called for heavy infrastructure spending.

But Iceberg said Tutor Perini, with a $1.5 billion market capitalization, faces net debt of $622 million at a time when banks are cutting their exposure to the company. It also noted that investors have complained about weak governance where their votes on pay have been ignored for years.

And it said Trump's planned infrastructure spending is not a sure thing. Since the election, the stock price has jumped 35 percent.

"Interest expenses will plague Tutor’s profitability compared to its peers," the report said.

"Going forward Tutor may be engaged in a vicious cycle: its declining financial strength may prevent the company from bidding on some contracts or force the company to lower its prices even more aggressively," the Iceberg Research report, seen by Reuters, says. "Our target price for Tutor’s stock is $13 per share (55 percent downside)," the report added.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

You May Also Be Interested In

• Donald Trump Has Indicated to Economic Advisers he is Interested in a New Middle-class Tax Cut - Reuters
• Stifel Upgrades Oxford Biomedica (OXB:LN) (OXBDF) to Buy
• Align Technology (ALGN) PT Raised to $400 at Stifel