Tutor Perini Beats Earnings as Board Shrinks, Stock Falls
Tutor Perini posted a 37.9% earnings beat and $480M net cash, yet insiders including the chairman sold $217M in shares at significantly higher prices in August. The stock now trades at $77.65, below e
TPC Board Shrinks; Stock Falls Below Insider Exit Prices
NEW YORK, October 18 —
Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC) just posted a 37.9% earnings beat and carries $480 million in net cash, yet its board keeps shrinking and its stock sits at $77.65, below every price at which insiders sold $216.82 million in shares this August. The October 13 Form 8-K is the company's second director departure disclosure since August 14. Analysts see $116.25. The chairman saw $85.57 as his floor.
- Q2 EPS of $1.74 beat the consensus by 37.9%, per the August 5 earnings 8-K.
- Chairman Ronald N. Tutor sold 2.31 million shares on August 31 at $85.57, $89.86, collecting approximately $197.7 million.
- TPC has since fallen to $77.65, underperforming the S&P 500 by 9.6 percentage points over the past month.
A Balance Sheet Worth Bragging About, Yet Nobody Staying to Brag
Tutor Perini, a construction services company operating across Civil infrastructure, highways, bridges, tunnels, mass-transit, Building, and Specialty Contractors segments, reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $5.95 billion, up 19.2% year-over-year. Free cash flow hit $573 million over the same period. The balance sheet shows $940 million in cash against $460 million in total debt. The earnings record is uneven, a 41.3% miss sandwiched between three beats, but the most recent quarter was the strongest of the four. That makes the August exodus harder to explain away as a routine liquidity event for long-tenured directors diversifying personal holdings.
The Selling Pattern
Three directors sold in a five-week window after the strong August 5 earnings release. Director Sidney Feltenstein moved first, exiting 184,209 shares on August 7 at $95.66 to $98.18 for approximately $17.88 million. Director Dale Anne Reiss sold 13,400 shares at roughly $92 on August 27 for approximately $1.23 million. Then Chairman Tutor liquidated 2.31 million shares on August 31, a single-day exit worth approximately $197.7 million. Total net insider selling over 90 days: $216.82 million, with zero purchases recorded. Institutional investors hold 83.6% of shares and now absorb that supply at a price below any insider's exit.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| TPC | $4.1B | 12.8x | +15.7% |
| PRIM | $3.9B | 14.1x | -47.4% |
| GVA | $4.9B | 13.6x | +3.9% |
| MYRG | $4.4B | 19.2x | +33.7% |
| ORN | $345M | 19.4x | -0.6% |
| AGX | $4.8B | 21.5x | +19.0% |
What Changes the Setup
The analyst consensus of $116.25 against a 12.8x forward P/E implies the market is mispricing a cash-generating infrastructure contractor at a discount. TPC trades at an 11.5% gross margin, thin for construction, but the cash conversion is real. The next checkpoint is the Q3 earnings report: a fourth consecutive beat would pressure the insider-signal interpretation; a miss would confirm it. The specific number to watch is operating cash flow, trailing at $797 million, any deceleration narrows the gap between analyst optimism and board behavior. Run the free Tutor Perini Corporation deep-dive → to stress-test both scenarios.
Current fundamentals, valuation and filing history for Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC) are tracked on its Basis Report page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Tutor Perini insiders sell in August?
Three directors, including chairman Ronald Tutor, sold a combined $216.82 million in shares during a five-week window in August. Tutor alone sold 2.31 million shares on August 31 at $85.57 to $89.86, while the other two directors exited shares at prices ranging from $92 to $98.18 per share.
What was Tutor Perini's latest earnings report?
Tutor Perini posted Q2 EPS of $1.74, beating the $1.265 consensus estimate by 37.9%. The company reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $5.95 billion, up 19.2% year-over-year, and free cash flow of $573 million.
What is the current stock price of Tutor Perini?
Tutor Perini stock trades at $77.65, below every price at which insiders sold shares in August. The stock has underperformed the S&P 500 by 9.6 percentage points over the past month, while analysts see fair value at $116.25.
Has the Tutor Perini board changed recently?
Yes, the board has been shrinking, with the October 13 Form 8-K marking the company's second director departure disclosure since August 14. This occurred alongside the broader insider selling activity.
What do analysts think about Tutor Perini stock?
Analysts see $116.25 as a target price, implying the stock is currently undervalued. TPC trades at a 12.8x forward P/E based on analyst consensus, suggesting the market may be mispricing a cash-generative infrastructure contractor.
Tutor Perini filed its second director departure disclosure in two months on October 13, as TPC shares trade at $77.65 — below every price at which three insiders sold $216.82 million in August. Analysts hold a $116.25 consensus target and the company just posted a 37.9% earnings beat, yet the board keeps getting smaller.