Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $262.00 to $268.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.88% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ITW. Evercore ISI cut Illinois Tool Works from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $246.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upgraded Illinois Tool Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $267.90.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ITW stock opened at $273.13 on Wednesday. Illinois Tool Works has a 12-month low of $232.77 and a 12-month high of $279.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.67 and a 200-day moving average of $252.31. The firm has a market cap of $80.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 97.06% and a net margin of 21.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Illinois Tool Works

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITW. 1ST Source Bank grew its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 3,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 184,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,297,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Illinois Tool Works by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,370,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $358,321,000 after purchasing an additional 398,676 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Illinois Tool Works by 128.6% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 23,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 13,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 6.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 79.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.